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HENRY WILSON. 



HENRY WILSON 

ONE OF GOD'S BEST 



By 

MADELE WILSON 

and 

A. B. SIMPSON 



New York. 
The Alliance Press CoMPAi.^Y, 
692 Eighth Avenue. 






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LIBRARY of GQISGRESS 
Two Copies Received 

3EC 10 1908 

_^ ~icpyii«nt Entry ^ 

cuss OUr^-W-J^o- 
** copy' J, 



Copyrighted, 1908, 
AiUANCE Press Co. 



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PREFACE. 

In gathering together a few facts rela- 
tive to a Hfe so unspeakably beautiful, so 
truly Christian, so extensively influential, 
I may be pardoned if perchance around the 
commonplace statements I am guilty of 
throwing the halo of filial affection, the 
admiration of a close and satisfied critic, 
or the unbounded adoration, formed at 
close range, due to a soul as nearly perfect 
as man could be : of whom it might be said, 
"the world was not worthy," or perhaps in 
a higher order of judgment, "he was a man 
after God's own heart." 

This little sketch is made with the prayer 
that to the toilers on the uphill steeps of 
Life, the Reality of the Eternal Dawn, the 
sure and certain meeting of the Blessedly 
Departed, and the glorious reunion of all 
those who have been "faithful unto death," 
may be made so vital that for the joy that 
is set before them they may a little while 
longer bear the cross and endure the shame 
until Death is swallowed up in victory. 

Madele Wilson. 



NOTE. 

After reading with profound interest the 
chapters which had been prepared by Ma- 
dele Wilson as a loving memorial of her 
father and my beloved friend, Dr. Henry 
Wilson, I felt the record would be inade- 
quate without, at least, an attempt to por- 
tray the seventeen years which he spent in 
the work of the Gospel Tabernacle and the 
Christian and Missionary Alliance, and 
which constituted the last, and perhaps the 
most active and fruitful portion of his 
noble and useful career. I have, therefore, 
incorporated in the volume. Chapters V-IX 
inclusive, giving, I fear, but an imperfect 
sketch of Henry Wilson's Work with the 
Christian and Missionary Alliance, Henry 
Wilson as a Minister, Henry Wilson and 
the Children, Henry Wilson and the Work 
of Missions, and Henry Wilson as a Man. 
The other chapters are from the pen of 
his daughter and add many intensel}^ 
interesting letters of biography and cor- 
respondence accessible to her alone. They 
will be read, I am certain, with intense in- 
terest by the wide circle of friends who 



6 Preface 

loved so well that dear friend, whose 
charming and striking personality and 
many sided character and work no pen or 
picture can ever adequately reproduce. 

A. B. Simpson. 



INDEX. 

I- 

A Brief Sketch 9 

II. 
Childhood 14 

III. 
His Early Church Career 28 

IV. 
Life in St. George's, New York 58 

V. 

Henry Wilson and the Christian and 
Missionary Alliance 74 

VI. 

Henry Wilson and the Children 92 

VII. 

Henry Wilson as a Minister 106 

VIII. 
Henry Wilson and the Work of For- 
eign Missions 122 



8 



Index 



IX. 

Henry Wilson as a Man 132 

„. X. 
His Last Days 139 

XI. 
Tributes and Reflections 147 

XII. 
All's Well T89 



CHAPTER I. 

A BRIEF SKETCH. 

"Let me die the death of the righteous and let 
my last end be like his." 

"If I should die to-night my friends would look 

upon my quiet face 
Before they laid it in its resting place 
And deem that Death had left it almost fair. 
And laying snow-white flowers beneath my hair, 
Would fold my hands with lingering caress. 
Poor hands ! So empty and so cold to-night. 
If I should die to-night, the eyes that chill me 

with averted glance, 
Would look upon me as of yore perchance 
And soften in the old familiar way 
For who could war with dumb, defenceless clay? 
And I should be forgiven of all to-night. 
Oh, friends keep not your kisses for my cold, 

dead brow, 
The way is lonely, let me feel them now, 
When dreamless rest is mine. 
I shall not need the tenderness for which I long 

to-night." 

IT would be difficult to describe in any 
adequate words the personality of one 
so truly great and so genuinely kind as 
Dr. Wilson. 

The geniality of his character extended 
from the hearts of little children to the 
minds of great men. 

He was alike the companion of both. His 
sympathy, compassion and unfailing cheer- 



lo Henry Wilson 

fulness, allied with a vigorous body, a sound 
mind and ever-ready willingness, made him 
the truest friend in sorrow, the kindliest ad- 
viser in difficulty and the servant of all un- 
der all circumstances. 

No personal ambitions, pleasures or rights 
ever swerved him from the path of con- 
science, duty or liberality. 

Even family claims were secondary to his 
high and holy calling. When on one occas- 
ion he was called upon to part with all his 
worldly possessions and position for con- 
science' sake, he unflinchingly did it. When 
later in life, the call came a little closer 
home to his heart and God required one of 
his flesh and blood for His service he again 
willingly made the sacrifice. And when on 
the third occasion, additional spiritual light 
was revealed to his vision he voluntarily 
resigned a remunerative position that his 
field of labor might be extended and the 
glorious Gospel be more widely preached. 

In later years his life work took him far 
afield, making his home the exceptional and 
bright resting place in his earthly warfare. 
So Death found him, after a three days' 
halt, again on his way to do his Master's 
service. 



A Brief Sketch ii 

He arrived at Atlanta, at the home of de- 
voted friends, who made his last earthly 
hours as supremely happy as they could be 
in the absence of his only two children, who 
could not arrive at his bedside in time. 

The latest services he conducted were on 
Sunday, February 9, 1908, and on Tuesday, 
nth, his last hours were given to a meeting 
with the little children. 

On February 13, at the midnight hour, he 
passed through the "ever open door'' and 
entered the gates of the Eternal City. 

A word to our readers about his earthly 
career might be interesting. 

He was born in Peterborough, Canada, 
in the year 1841. At an early age he won 
the Wellington Scholarship and entered 
Trinity College, from which he won several 
degrees, receiving the highest and last, that 
of Doctor of Divinity, in the year 1883. 

His first ministry was as curate of the 
Cathedral of St. George's, Kingston, Can- 
ada. 

It was in this city that the great crisis and 
turning point of his life came. 

The Salvation Army up to that time was 
an unknown factor. 

On its arrival, despite his high churchly 



12 Henry Wilson 

standing, he boldly and uncompromisingly 
stood up for its principles, defended its 
metliods, answered its critics, and later in 
life, sealed his intense devotion to its cause 
by giving his elder daughter to its service. 

This attitude toward the Army cost him 
his living. His Dean gave him his choice. 
He made it, and leaving behind him the 
work of seventeen years, a city full of heart- 
broken friends, three lonely little graves in 
a country churchyard (which church he 
had labored for years to build for the people 
of that district, and where he now lies) he 
went forth, not knowing whither he went, 
taking with him his two motherless little 
girls. 

He found a home and position in the 
well-known parish of St. George's Episco- 
pal Qiurch, New York, under the rector- 
ship of the Rev. William Rainsford, D. D. 

After seven years of service in this field 
of labor he voluntarily resigned and allied 
himself with the Christian and Missionary 
Alliance work, under the leadership of the 
Rev. A. B. Simpson. 

From this field of labor God called him 
after seventeen years of loving sendee, and 
now that life's journey is ended may I not 



A Brief Sketch 13 

adequately quote these words as exemplify- 
ing his life : 

"Nay, never falter, no great deed was 
ever done by falterers who ask for cer- 
tainty ; the greatest gift a hero leaves his 
race is to have been a hero/' and might we 
not in a deeper and truer sense add, the 
greatest gift a Christian leaves his race is 
to have been a Christ-man. 

He lived and acted toward all mankind 
with the spirit of life, opportunity and ser- 
vice. 

His death was triumphant because his 
life was victorious, and the expression of 
hundreds of broken hearts was but the re- 
flection of thousands of kindly deeds he 
performed in his daily ministry, and might 
we not truly say, ''Mark the perfect man 
and behold the upright, for the end of that 
man is peace." 



CHAPTER IL 

CHILDHOOD. 

infant heart upon the stage of Time, 
Thy little life has entered; 

The curtain lifts before the mist of years 
Whose mysteries as yet untold thy little life 

must fathom. 
So meet its call, that from the bourne, from 

whence no traveller returns. 
Thou may est look back upon the after-glow of 

life 
And bless God for the day He gave and for the 

dawn to come. 

M. W. 

From the following letter w^hich I quote 

1 am indebted somewhat for the title of 
this book; and as my father was such a 
lover of children I thought the letter of the 
little lad a most exquisite suggestion. 

Tlie letter is written by the aunt of the 
little boy. She says : 

"About sixteen years ago, while on a 
visit in New York City^ I first met Dr. 
Wilson. Calling at the house one day, on 
leaving he said to my four-year-old nephew, 
'My boy, when you say your prayers at 
night will you remember to add, God bless 
Dr. Wilson and make him a good man !' 

"The child did not forget the request, but 
that night repeated the words of his own 




'Their angels do always behold the face of My Father 
which is in heaven" (Matt, xviii. lo). 



ChUdhood 15 

accord, continuing the practice for perhaps 
two years after our return to our home in 
Ohio. One night when about six years old 
as he came to that part of his prayer he 
suddenly stopped and looking up at me 
said earnestly, 'Auntie, isn't Dr. Wilson a 
good man yet^ I hardly knew what to say, 
but satisfied the child with some sort of 
explanation. Having occasion to write to 
Dr. Wilson shortly after, I mentioned the 
occurrence and asked what my answer 
should have been. Here is his reply — the 
letter lies before me and is dated July 11, 
1896: 

" 'Please remember me with much love 
to the dear boy who has been praying so 
faithfully for me all these years. 

*Tell him that in me at least there is 
always room for improvement. 

*If he thinks that I have reached the posi- 
tive *'good" there is farther on the com- 
parative "better," and still farther on the 
"best," not my best, but God's best. So 
ask him to pray on for this, and read him 
with my love and prayer for him Mr. Simp- 
son's beautiful lines which I enclose.' (The 
leaflet has disappeared, but I think it was 
entitled "God's Best" or "His Best.")' 



i6 Henry Wilson 

*'So I read the child both the poem and 
the quoted words of the letter, though 
doubtful of his understanding much of 
either. But that night, after saying the 
usual words, 'God bless Dr. Wilson/ he 
paused, and after thinking a moment, 
added, 'and make him your best man,' and 
from this on until two or three years later, 
when he concluded to say his prayers 'into 
himself,' the words were unfailingly re- 
peated for how much longer I do not know. 

"In a letter to Dr. Wilson, perhaps a 
month or two later, I mentioned this last 
incident, and he replied: 

" 'I thank you for what you tell me of the 
darling boy and the new prayer he is now 
oilFering up to God for me. 

" Tlease tell him how I appreciate it and 
how the telling of the story in a meeting 
the other day was blessed to those who 
heard it. 

" 'May God make of me indeed His very 
best and give me the pleasure some day of 
meeting the dear child.' " 

"They never met again in this life, but 
will not the prayer be answered? For the 
praying boy has grown into the earnest 
Christian vouth and in the cloudless some 



1 



Childhood 17 

day of God's own appointed time will they 
not surely meet again/' 

It is dilSicult, looking back over events, to 
trace mucK of the early history of what 
came out in later years in such bold and 
fine relief, and this is a cause of regret to 
the writer inasmuch as Dr. Wilson's in- 
tense love for little children would have 
made his ov/n childhood a peculiarly in- 
teresting one to many readers. 

Suffice it to say that as his own Christian 
character was so beautifully human as well 
as sublime there is no reason to doubt that 
his childhood was marked by those traits of 
simplicity, love of beauty, change, bright- 
ness, cheerfulness and many other points 
which became more marked as the years 
went on. Like most children, he was fond 
of light music, color and animals, and when 
I tell you that as a small boy he toiled up 
hill for a quarter of a mile with six pails 
of water to earn a ticket to see a travelling 
menagerie, you will see that the boy's love 
of animals and a willingness to earn what 
he could not otherwise command showed a 
strength of purpose and a love of the 
dumb creation, which are pleasing to note. 
At a much later age he might be found 



1 8 Henry Wilson 

taking little children to the Zoo or telling 
them elephant and monkey stories, and such 
fascination had these stories for his little 
devotees that on one occasion when in the 
midst of his morning private devotions two 
little pair of impatient feet made their way- 
many times to that sanctum till their pa- 
tience reached its limit in the words, *'0h, 
Dr. Wilson, youVe said prayers enough. 
Come on downstairs and tell us the monkey 
story." 

May I quote to you a few lines from a 
letter written me after he had passed the 
borderland, showing the wonderful in- 
fluence he had with young lives : 
"My dear Miss Wilson. 

"You don't remember me, I am sure. I 
was one of the little children years and 
years ago in your father's class at South- 
ampton (Long Island) in the little Dune 
Church. 

"The lessons, stories and hymns made the 
deepest impression on me, as on all the 
children, but more than anything he taught 
us in words was the inspiration of his won- 
derful personality, and I can rem.ember his 
face, his smile, his gestures as clearly to- 
day as if I had seen him yesterday, and I 



Childhood 19 

have not seen him since. You know what 
deep feelings children have and will under- 
stand when I tell you that your father 
taught me what God's love is, and that his 
words sunk into my heart and have never 
left me. He was the first person I had 
ever seen who made religion real, and my 
gratitude to him is boundless. As soon as 
I could I tried to teach others what he had 
taught me. And during the eleven years 
I have taught I have used his stories and 
have tried with all my heart to make the 
children feel what he made me feel. The 
last two years I went each spring to tell 
him the seed he planted was growing and 
both times he was away, and this morning 
when I went again it was to learn that he 
was dead." 

How dearly he was loved by old and 
young alike! 

He had the unbounded admiration of 
children, and their elders not infrequently 
accompanied the younger set to his "chil- 
dren's talks" that for their own hearts and 
needs they might gather inspiration from 
the truth set forth in so graphic and win- 
some a way. 

The secret of his success with children in 



20 Henry Wilson 

a great measure was due to his adaptability, 
and his own youthful spirit. 

For several years in our own home we 
kept a small maiden of three summers that 
we might study at closer range the subject 
so dear to both our hearts — childhood. And 
as our Lord took this type as one of the 
characteristic essentials to the entrance of 
His kingdom we truly felt as if we were en- 
tertaining an angel unawares, and the last 
night he spent in his own little home was in 
entertaining our small visitor with the much 
loved "m.onkey story." I will tell you one 
little story about a talk he gave many years 
ago and which made such an impression on 
my mind as a child that later in life I asked 
him if he would allow me to reconstruct it 
and write a Christmas story for my little 
kindergarten children. 

Last Christm.as he allowed me to do so. 
It was a sad and unexpected ending I 
put to it. But because it was his story, and 
also because it had a real ending, I thought 
you might like to have me repeat it. 

THE JOURNEY OF LIFE. 

Once there was an old man called Time 
and whenever he heard that a little baby 



Childhood 21 

was born he always went to the door and 
left a parcel for the little stranger. 

If he went to the homes of the rich, the 
box was always done up in gold or silver 
paper, and when he went to some other 
houses it was done up in rough brown 
paper. 

But the strange part of it all was that 
whatever he put around the parcel the thing 
inside was always the same. 

And wherever he left the parcels he also 
left strict orders that before they got to the 
end of life's journey they would have to 
open their parcels. Some could open them 
early and some could open them late. 

But everybody would have to take them 
along with them^ — some for a long way and 
some for a little way — before they laid them 
down, and when the day came to lay that 
burden down Father Time would open an- 
other door through which they would pass 
to a beautiful world where they would have 
no burdens to carry any more. 

Now when the rich and poor alike opened 
their parcels what do you suppose they all 
found? A number of little things called 
"The troubles of life." 



22 Henry Wilson 

DISCONTENTED. 

Now nobody liked what was in the par- 
cels and nobody wanted to carry them. 

Some said they would like to burn them, 
but they would not burn, and some people 
wanted to throw them into the sea, but they 
would not sink, and so they had to do what 
Father Time said they would, and that was 
to bear the burden or carry the parcel he 
had left for them. 

So they all started to bear their burdens, 
and this is the way some of them tried : 

They tied their troubles all up again and 
with a long string they put them around 
their necks and hung them in front of them 
so that when they walked along the path 
of Life their heads were bowed and their 
eyes were down so that they could not see 
the beautiful things of life at all. 

At last a kind friend called experience 
said to them : 'Tut your burden behind you 
and see if that won't be easier.'' 

So they turned their troubles behind them 
and they bore them with their heads erect, 
and eyes uplifted, and walked so straight 
that people looked at them in wonder, that 
with such heavy burdens they seemed to 



Childhood 23 

walk even straighter than those who 
seemed to have no troubles. 

STUMBLING STONES. 

Then some other people did not carry 
them all together. They opened the box, 
and took their troubles out one by one 
and spread them all along the path of Life, 
and they stumbled over them and fell down 
and hurt themselves and discourage 
others ; and when they came to the end of 
the journey they were all bruised and sore, 
and had not been able to help themselves or 
other people just because they had stumbled 
over what were never meant for ''stumbling 
stones.*' 

But there were other people who took the 
same troubles and laid them out along the 
path of Life and stepped upon every trouble 
that came in their way ; and every time they 
stepped up they caught a new sight of 
heaven and their troubles brought them 
nearer to God. 

So they made "stepping stones'' of what 
they found in their parcels. 

MILLSTONES. 

Now there were some other people who 



24 Henry Wilson 

took each trouble out, one at a time, and 
tied it around their necks in front and 
showed it to all their friends, till their 
friends were tired and worn out looking at 
their troubles, and at last they became such 
a burden to themselves and their friends 
that they went by the name of ''millstones/' 

And would you believe there was an- 
other way you could put your troubles 
along the path of Life so that they would 
not be either stepping stones, stumbling 
stones or millstones? Well, there was an- 
other way. And this was it: 

Every trouble they had they put on the 
road, and it marked an event in their life, 
and when they looked back on the road they 
had come along they could see all they 
had passed by that they would never have 
to pass again, and it made them feel strong, 
and those who could count many stones felt 
stronger than those who could count few, 
and so they made their troubles beautiful 
milestones, 

MOUNTING STONES. 

And then they came to the end of the 
journey and all the people who had made 
stepping stones and milestones of their 



Childhood 25 

troubles, gathered them together, and their 
old friend Experience placed them in a 
large mound at the end of the journey ; and 
when Time told them the journey was 
ended, they looked back and there were no 
more troubles on the path, but they had all 
been gathered up at the end, and made into 
beautiful ''mounting stones'' to a higher 
life. And then Time closed the door and 
they found themselves where there is no 
more sorrow nor crying nor any more pain, 
for they carry no more burdens as they are 
before the throne of God and the journey 
of life is ended. 

A BEAUTIFUL ENDING. 

I am going to tell you the story of a good 
man who made this journey and came to 
the gates of the Eternal City on St. Valen- 
tine's Day. 

When that morning dawned he was with- 
in its portals, and had left behind him a city 
full of sorrow and pain through which he 
had walked for 67 years, not quite three 
score years and ten, but very nearly. 

This good man, the Rev. Doctor Wilson, 
was a true lover of little children, and he 
looks back to-day over a life well spent. 



26 Henry Wilson 

He lived a good life because he had God 
in it ; he lived a useful life because he found 
plenty to do in caring for poor unfortunate, 
needy people; he lived an unselfish life be- 
cause the motives of his heart were 
prompted by a consideration for others ; first 
and always. 

His was a life to be envied in the highest 
and truest sense; his principles were the 
principles that anyone of us could, by the 
grace of God, follow to the end. 

He was on a journey — going about his 
Master's business — a journey from which 
he never returned until attended by the 
Angel of Death. And because he helped to 
make life so beautiful for other people all 
the way along the line, there were many sad 
hearts, and little children felt they had lost 
a big brother, and big people felt they had 
lost a friend, and the earth was poorer, but 
heaven had opened its door to give an abun- 
dant entrance to a true soldier of Jesus 
Christ. 

He was a hard-working little boy; his 
parents were poor, and later in life he won 
high honors in college because he made the 
most of the chances and opportunities that 
crossed his patfi. 




1 



THE LITTLE MAIDEN OF THREE SUMMERS. 



Childhood 27 

But though he was ^, clever rmin, the 
world honored him most because he was a 
good man. He had in his heart what earth- 
ly wealth could not procure, and so his life 
was valuable to the rich, and to the poor he 
was an unfailing friend. 

If you had known him you could not have 
failed to love him. He was never too big 
to become as a little child to children. 

He was never too holy to fail to be 
human at the same time; never too busy 
or occupied to fail to be courteous and sym- 
pathetic under all circumstances. 

He had a "face like a benediction," a smile 
that was the embodiment of cheer, and a 
laugh that was an inspiration. He was a 
cheerful Christian all through to the end, 
despite the fact that he met with so many 
sorrowing lives, and "when he had passed 
it seemed like the ceasing of exquisite 
music." 

May God give us all grace to experience 
so truly vital a Christianity and so noble a 
life. 



CHAPTER III. 

HIS EARLY CHURCH CAREER. 

"Men whose lives glided on like rivers that 
water the woodland 

Darkened by shadows of earth, but reflecting 
an image of heaven." (Longfellow.) 

THE above quotation aptly describes the 
character of my father at a time in 
his life v^hen he passed through dark 
waters, and for the sake of those who knew 
him in his later years as the embodiment of 
happiness, and may I reverently say holi- 
ness, I would be untrue to my subject were 
I to omit the shadows which give balance 
aud tone to the picture, or paint in lighter 
vein the strong and sombre background, 
which brought out in clearer contrast in 
later years the high Hght of so true and 
noble a character. 

One of his favorite quotations was 

"The mark of rank in nature is capacity for pain, 
And the anguish of the singer makes the sweet- 
ness of the strain." 

And no life more truly exemplified it than 
did his. 

His early ministry began in the city of 
Kingston, Canada. 



His Early Church Career 29 

As a young man with very limited means 
(his father having been a master in one of 
the Canadian schools) he made his way suc- 
cessfully through Trinity College, Toronto, 
mainly by his arduous labors, untiring zeal 
and conscientious study, tutoring at the 
same time he was preparing for the most 
difficult examination. He won the Welling- 
ton Scholarship, which enabled him to suc- 
cessfully finish his college career, but came 
to his first parish a physical wreck from 
overstudy, long hours and a delicate con- 
stitution. To those who knew him in later 
life with his strong and manly physique this 
part of the story will hardly seem credible, 
or perhaps I more truly ought to say, the 
value of his belief in Divine Healing will be 
more keenly enhanced. 

A young, attractive Church of England 
curate, with a loving helpmeet in his tal- 
ented young wife, seemed indeed a fair and 
prosperous commencement to his career, but 
ere eleven months had fled the solemn bells 
of the old church rang out their mournful 
message, and to the little country church- 
yard where he now lies, a solemn little 
broken-hearted band laid her to rest beneath 
the snow on that dark and dull December 



30 Henry Wilson 

day. And back to the care of his ten-day- 
old infant boy he turned with a broken 
heart. But loving friends were not wanting 
and tender care was given the motherless 
infant, and what a parish full of sympathe- 
tic hearts could do, was done to lighten his 
heavy burden, and staunch the bleeding 
wound. After three years there came to his 
life as verily '*an angel of light" as was ever 
permitted to tread God's earth, or grace 
awhile an earthly home. 

He met my mother. Fair of form, graci- 
ous of manner, tender of soul, beloved by 
poor and rich alike, she seemed too fair 
for this dark earth, lest perchance it were 
to brighten it awhile and leave the picture 
darker for the loss of the light that had 
been. 

And into their happy married life there 
came my baby soul — to fill for one short 
year their cup of happiness ere it was 
dashed to earth by a shadow more dark and 
a blow even more stunning than heretofore. 

When again the Angel of Birth stood at 
the threshold of his life and placed within 
his care and keeping another baby girl, 
Death followed swiftly in the track and ere 
two days had passed added to the list of the 



His Early Church Career 31 

blessed dead his young and beautiful wife 
ere twenty-two summers had crossed her 
life. 

Words utterly fail me here to attempt to 
describe what only those whose hearts know 
their own bitterness, can very well imagine. 
With three little children he made the brave 
and lonely struggle in the uphill climb of 
life. Bereft of comradeship, a young and 
inexperienced father with a broken and 
shattered constitution as the result of his 
arduous college career, and the shadows 
that death had so rudely thrown across his 
earthly pathway. 

And over that open grave, before his God 
in the silence of his own soul, he vowed a 
life of devotion to his Master's calling and 
a sacred fatherhood to his now and ever 
motherless children. 

Brave soul of honor, who in the darkest 
hour of life could bow to a God from whom 
no secrets were hidden. Braver soul who in 
the subtle heat of life's glaring Midway 
kept his eye fixed on the "star of his 
soul," and he most brave who, when death 
called, could say, It is well! 

Such characters are rare, and the world is 
not worthy of them. 



33 Henry Wilson 

To have lived with such a soul was more 
than one deserved, and if wealth were 
marked by character earth's riches could 
not repay for the loss of a soul so great, nor 
for the ever-living memory of having loved 
him and of having been loved by him. 

With the months life assumed her proper 
proportions. Duties called and responsibil- 
ity made her demands, and the horizon 
seemed for a little while again to be clear 
and the atmosphere devoid of darkness or 
storm. 

But Death was lurking not far off, and 
though to all appearances he had had more 
than his share of sorrow, one more heart- 
breaking blow was dealt to him. 

One beautiful summer day he joyfully 
gave his seven-year-old boy to the care of a 
governess for a day's outing for the pleas- 
ure of both, and on his return to greet the 
boy on his homecoming he learned by one 
heart-rending cry that he had fallen on 
leaving the boat, down between the wharf 
and the vessel, and in the fall had dragged 
to her death the young governess. 

Beside himself with grief he made strenu- 
ous efforts to save them, but was withheld 
by stronger hands, and before his own eyes 



His Early Church Career 33 

he saw his darling boy, his first bom, 
dragged in beneath the foaming water of 
the paddle wheel, and when he regained 
consciousness it was to learn that both lives 
were lost. And one more cross was added 
to the little graveyard plot, to mark another 
sorrow in a life so short and yet so filled 
with grief. And when on one cx:casion later 
in life he preached a very eloquent sermon 
on trusting God in hours of darkness, a 
broken-hearted man bitterly said to him: 
"Sir, if you had just buried your wife and 
boy could you dare preach a sermon like 
that?'' And with his beautiful sympathetic 
smile he told him the story I have just told 
you. 

But here we are approaching the last 
and fiercest strife of all — the turning point 
of his spiritual life (if perchance he could 
ever be called ought but spiritual). Still 
there came upon the horizon of the spiritual 
vision, such a light as crossed the life of 
St. Paul on his way to Damascus. With a 
voice from out the experience of the past, as 
clear as that which fell upon the ears of the 
apostle, and a call as definite. 

It came not from the clear mid-day glare 
on a highwa}^, but down on his face before 



34 Henry Wilson 

his God in the midnight hour at the penitent 
form of a Salvation Army barracks. His 
soul was freed, his conventionality broken, 
his creed broadened, his life expanded and 
his usefulness extended to unlimited meas- 
ure. But lest I be tempted at this point to 
write with too much emotion upon the cru- 
cial point in his spiritual experience, which 
some would like to underestimate on ac- 
count of its then so-called "crude setting," 
let me give you extracts culled from 
his personal correspondence with his Bishop 
(now dead) and his Dean, who also has 
passed beyond. And then allow me to draw 
the veil over the oncoming years and lift it 
sadly once again after a quarter of a cen- 
tury over his silent body as it lay in death 
within his old Cathedral, and let us put 
away in the treasury of memory the 
tribute of Dean Farthing (the present 
Dean) to his spiritual worth, and the last 
pathetic and loving request of his old par- 
ishioners (whose hearts had been Toyal to 
him despite a system) for the mortal re- 
mains of what in life they had been too . 
sadly deprived. | 

My father had been known to remark 
that if the Salvation Army were doing the 

i 

i 



I 



His Early Church Career 35 

work it professed to, if it ever came to our 
city he would uphold its principles. It came 
with the startling announcement that 'The 
Salvation Army would bombard Kingston 
and the first shot would be fired into the 
enemy^s camp from the Market Square at 
such an hour/' 

Will you picture to yourself the effect of 
such language upon the conventionality 
of the day, not to mention the irritating 
impression on those of military life accus- 
tomed to such phraseology in another set- 
ting. 

But let us watch the coming. In the 
market square in a cold Canadian winter a 
small band, two men and two women, knelt 
— alone — and prayed in mighty faith, long 
since justified by work and results, that God 
would give them souls for their hire; and 
that sinners should be converted unto Him. 

An amused and skeptical crowd watched 
them until patient labor, deep yearning de- 
sire and mighty faith were rewarded, and 
God gave them souls, and amongst those 
who knelt at their penitent form was no 
more brave Christian soldier than my hon- 
ored and esteemed father. 

But let me use his own words in reference 



36 Henry Wilson 

to God's leading in his life so you may 
have his testimony and not mine. 

"To help some other life, and to show 
what God can do for a soul, and in a soul 
willing to be made willing and obedient to 
His highest will, is the purpose of this brief 
testimony of spiritual experience. 

*'In my case God's order w^as. First the 
SouL I was saved in a very unexpected but 
most real way through the Salvation Army 
after seventeen years of a ministry, called 
by some successful, and certainly in some 
degree blessed. 

"I found myself one night kneeling at 
the penitent form of the Army, pleading for 
pardon and peace, and needing both, as 
much as the drunkard on one side of me 
and the lost wom.an on the other. 

"I saw myself as never before, a poor lost 
soul, just as much as they, so far as the 
need of a new heart and a right spirit was 
concerned. 

"Then and there I found what I was seek- 
ing, shortly afterwards in a night of prayer 
never to be forgotten, in the Army barracks. 
I saw the vision of God and heard the voice 
of my Saviour as clearly and surely as Paul 
did on the Damascus road. 



His Early Church Career 37 

*'In a new and real way, beyond any tell- 
ing in words, I entered into the kingdom of 
God, old things passed away and all things 
became new. Long cherished theological 
views vanished in the light of His face, who 
is the Truth Itself. Moses and Elias and 
all they had meant to me were swallowed up 
in the effulgence of Jesus, with whom they 
had been talking and to whom they had all 
their lives witnessed. 

"Hosea^s suggestive words became my 
personal experience. Ephraim shall say, 
'What have I to do any more with idols' 
(and I surely had some, theological and 
others). *I have heard Him and observed 
Him (Jesus). I am like a green fir tree; 
from me is thy fruit found.' Hosea xiv. 8. 

"The sweet old chorus became the song 
of my heart and lips : 

" 'He's the Lily of the Valley, 
The Bright and Morning Star, 
He's the fairest of ten thousand to my soul/ 

"This the Holy Spirit, through the bles- 
sed Salvation Army, did for me in the year 
1883, and made Jesus to me 

" 'A living bright reality, 
More present to Faith's vision keen, 
Than any outward object seen. 



38 Henry Wilson 

More dear, more intimately nigh 
Than e'en the sweetest earthly tie.' " 

SECOND — THE SPIRIT. 

"Then in due time and in God's own 
way came the baptism of the Holy Spirit, 
and the realizing, not only of Jesus as my 
present and personal Saviour, but of the 
filling of my spirit with the very Spirit of 
God and the fulness of Jesus, not for salva- 
tion merely, but for all that follows and 
flows from it, in Himself. 

"The name matters so little when the real- 
ity is there, whether it was the second bles- 
sing or the experience of sanctification or 
whether it was an act done by the Holy 
Ghost upon my saved and cleansed heart or 
a state produced by that act, I have never 
cared much to enquire. I know that Jesus 
gave me the Holy Spirit to be my present 
and eternal Sanctifier, and the Holy 
Ghost made Jesus my Sanctification and 
made His name and nature so rich and full 
in its meaning and power that from that 
hour to this the ^fulness of Jesus' and 'filled 
with the Holy Ghost' have meant to me 
what the filling and overflowing of pure 
water does to the empty vessel, or a river 



I 

I 



His Early Church Career 39 

of wholesome water does to a dry and bar- 
ren land. 

"What these two tremendous facts, the 
salvation of my soul and the sanctification 
of my spirit, did for me in the way of ser- 
vice I can only hint at here. 

"Soul and spirit on fire with love to God 
and a lost world, the Word of God il- 
lumined by His Holy Spirit became a new 
and living Book to me, believing now it 
means just what it says and says just what 
it means, and that it is the Word of God 
from cover to cover. I have had no time 
for higher or lower criticism of it, but have 
more than I can do to make it 'the power 
of God unto salvation to every one that be- 
lieveth.' 

"New power, new pleasure in simply 
preaching the Word. i. Himself who is 
the Divine Incarnate Word. 2. His words 
which He Himself says are spirit and life 
(John vi.). 

"Souls saved through and through — fed 
and sanctified after salvation, and then set 
and sent forth to win and bless other souls. 

"These are some of the 'exceeding great 
and precious fruits that have come to and 



40 Henry Wilson 

through my redeemed spirit-filled lips. To 
God be the glory for all. 

THIRD — THE BODY. 

''Last in order, and as the climax of all 
came the healing and quickening of my 
mortal body (Rom. viii. 2) by the same 
spirit. 

''After seventeen years of severe invalid- 
ism — a victim of chronic dyspepsia, catar- 
rhal and throat troubles, nervous depres- 
sion, resulting partly from severe physical 
injuries and partly from great sorrows and 
trials early in life and long continued — I 
found under the teaching of my beloved 
brother. Rev. A. B. Simpson, of New York, 
that Jesus is indeed the 'Saviour of the 
Body' (Eph. v. 23) in a way I had never 
dreamed of. 

"By the Holy Spirit, through his teach- 
ing in life I learned the blessed secret of 
the resurrection life of the Lord Jesus for 
my body here and now^ and not merely 
when I should rise from the dead and meet 
Him in the air. 

"1 found that Ephesians v. 30 could be 
true of a man in this mortal life, here in 
the body, surrounded by the ordinary temp- 




HENRY WILSON. 
Aged 25 years. 



His Early Church Career 41 

tations, and pressed by the ordinary bur- 
dens of life, that I could be in very truth 
a member of His Body, risen and ascended 
and seated at the right hand of God, and 
of His flesh and of His bones, that I in Him 
and He in me meant this and nothing less, 
and that in the power of this indwelling 
vivifying Jesus Christ in my body, my flesh 
and my bones I could be rid of all my 
chronic troubles, and go and have continual 
victory over pain and every power of the 
enemy. 

''No words can ever express the joy that 
filled my being when this precious truth 
dawned upon me, and better still when it 
became a present and permanent reality to 
me. 

'Tor nearly seventeen years it has been 
not only a living reality to me, but a reality 
growing deeper and richer, until now at 
the age of nearly seventy years, I am in 
every sense a younger, fresher man than I 
was at thirty. 

''At this present time I am in the strength 
of God, doing full twice as much work, 
mental and physical, as I have ever done in 
the best days of the past, and this observe. 



42 Henry Wilson 

with less than half the effort then necessary. 
It is a joy to work now. 

"My life, physical, mental and spiritual, 
is like an artesian well — always full and 
overflowing. 

"To speak, teach, travel by night and day 
in all weather and through all the sudden 
and violent changes of our variable climate, 
is no more effort for me than it is for the 
mill wheel to turn when the stream is full 
or for the pipe to let the water run through 
it. 

" 'My body, soul and spirit thus redeemed, 
Sanctified and healed I give, O Lord, to Thee, 
A consecrated offering Thine ever more to be. 
That all my powers with all their might 
In Thy sole glory may unite — hallelujah. Amen.^ 

'He that hath spoken to thy soul 
Hath many things to say. 
He that hath made thee whole 
Will keep thee day by day/ " 

And now rather than enter into any un- 
happy resurrection of past affairs, or wound 
the feelings of those who learned too late 
their loss I will here give the complete cor- 
respondence between my father and the 
Bishop of Ontario, Canada, to whom at this 
time he was chaplain. 

The following is the complete correspon- 



His Early Church Career 43 

dence between the Bishop and Dr. Wilson : 

ST. GEORGFS RECTORY, 

New York, Jan. 7th, 1884. 
My Lord. 

As you are doubtless aware the Dean 
has declined to grant the request of a num- 
ber of the Cathedral people and Christ 
Church Cateraqui to reinstate me as assist- 
ant minister. 

I feel therefore that the time has come 
for me to address you as my Bishop — not 
with reference to the past, but to make a 
simple request with regard to my future. 

The request is (i) That you as Bishop 
of the Dean allow me to do the work of an 
evangelist in Kingston and neighborhood. 

By this I mean that you shall give me 
your license to preach the Gospel as a min- 
ister of the Church of England to all who 
may wish to come, or whom I may be able 
to reach, especially those attending no place 
of worship, and trust for my support to the 
free-will offerings of those attending my 
services. 

(2) To arrange with the Dean for the 
separation of Christ Church from the 
Cathedral and the constitution of it into a 



44 Henry Wilson 

separate parish under my charge and in 
connection with my work in the city. 

I make this request for the following rea- 
sons: (i) My whole ministry has been 
spent in Kingston and Cateraqui, and I 
should like, if it were God's will, to spend 
the rest of my days there. 

(2) I am deeply attached to the people of 
both the city and township, and I should 
feel very keenly a separation from them 
now. 

(3) To Christ Church particularly I am 
especially attached for reasons well known 
to your Lordship and the Dean, and I think 
you will both admit that I have some moral 
claim if no legal one to a church and a 
people dearer to me than words can ex- 
press. 

(4) Owing to recent troubles there is a 
large number of our people who I have 
great reason to fear will fall away from the 
church and whom without presumption I 
will hope, with God's help, to retain within 
the fold if permitted to remain among 
them. 

This is especially the case with the young 
and members of my Bible class, numbering 
nearly 300 when I left the city. 



His Early Church Career 45 

I hope your Lordship will see the reason- 
ableness of this request, the first I have ever 
made for any position in your diocese or in 
the church at large. 

I simply ask you to let me stay with my 
dear people and minister to them under 
proper Episcopal Christianity ; to carry on 
the regular services of the church as pre- 
scribed, and supplement them by special 
efforts such as Bible classes, mission ser- 
vices, etc. Anything in fact by which I may 
be able to win souls to Christ, and build 
them up in the faith of the Church of Eng- 
land. 

This shall be my effort, God keeping me. 
And I do earnestly hope for the sake of the 
souls now waiting my return, to decide as 
to their future course, whether to remain 
in or forsake the church, that your Lord- 
ship will give this matter the attention it 
deserves, and see your way to granting my 
request. 

I am, etc., 

H. Wilson. 



Ottawa, Jan. i6th, 1884. 
My Dear Dr. Wilson. 

Absence from home and the necessity of 



46 Henry Wilson 

obtaining information have prevented an 
earlier answer to yours of the 7th instant. 

Your request is ultra vires, I have no 
power to license you as an evangehst in an- 
other priest's parish. 

The whole trouble that has arisen in your 
case has given me more pain than I can 
express. And I should have written to you 
as your Father in God, but that I heard on 
all sides that you declared that the question 
of your connection with the Salvation 
Army has now withdrawn from the region 
of debate or argument. 

Your friend Mr. Rainsford's letter has 
also intensified feeling and made it almost 
impossible for me to interfere. Praying 
that you may find a suitable sphere for your 
talents, I am faithfully yours, 

J. T. Ontario. 
Rev. H. Wilson, D. D. 



Lakewood, New Jersey. 
My Lord. 

Last night I received a letter from the 
Honorable Mr. Kirkpatric enclosing one 
from the Dean to him, and one from your- 
self to Mr. Carson. 



His Early Church Career 47 

May I give the substance of my reply to 
Mr. Kirkpatric. 

Before doing so, let me, however, ex- 
plain to your Lordship my silence in the 
matter of correspondence with yourself. 

Last summer a letter from you to the 
Dean on the subject of my connection with 
the Army was shown to me in which you 
distinctly said you could not or would not 
interfere between the Dean and myself in 
the matter. 

I feel, therefore, it would be useless to 
appeal to you in the matter, and so I for- 
bade to trouble you about it till the other 
day when, as I supposed, the severance of 
my connection with the Cathedral was final 
and I was once more a clergyman of your 
diocese v/ithout a charge, and asked you the 
favor contained in the letter, which you no 
doubt received some days ago. 

I hope therefore your Lordship will un- 
derstand the reason of any silence, and not 
construe it into any act or intention of dis- 
respect or want of courtesy. 

Let me now give you the substance of 
my letter to Mr. Kirkpatric. 
"My Dear Mr. Kirkpatric. 

In answer to your kind letter received 



48 Henry Wilson 

last evening, let me say I am most anxious 
to meet the wishes of the Dean in the mat- 
ter of the Army as far as possible, without 
the sacrifice of conscience or principle. 

Anything short of that I am willing to 
do, but that I am sure he will not require 
of me. 

Before stating just what I am prepared 
to do if reinstated, let me mention one or 
two facts which will, I hope, show the 
reasonableness of my side of the question. 

(i) When I made up my mind to take 
part in the work of the Army, after watch- 
ing its practical results for some weeks, I 
told the Dean of my purpose. He approved 
of it and said he would stand by me if 
trouble came. 

(2) As I reported to him from time to 
time the good results of the movement to 
the church and the parish, he expressed 
himself as greatly pleased and encouraged 
me to continue my zvork with it. 

(3) When not long ago about eighty 
members of the Army, headed by their offi- 
cers, attended St. George's Cathedral and 
received the Communion at my invitation, 
the Dean publicly, from the altar, thanked 




"These are they which came out of great tribulation and have 
washed their robes .... therefore are they before the Throne.'* 



His Early Church Careei; 49 

God for their coming and hoped they would 
come again. 

(4) With iiis permission I read from the 
chancel a statement showing the very large 
increase in our communicants and in the 
Bible class owing to my connection with 
the Army. 

(5) Never had the Dean, either privately 
or publicly, found fault with me before for 
my connection with Army, and not until 
the affair of the all-night meeting, Nov. 18, 
did he even write to me on the subject. 

That was really the first correspondence 
we had on the subject, and the first intima- 
tion that my course of action was displeas- 
ing to him. 

Now in view of these facts which the 
Dean, I am sure, will admit, is it not a little 
unreasonable, that on account of one or two 
occasions at which things were done which 
gave great offence, and things which I re- 
gret as much as he, but could not well con- 
trol, he should give me notice of dismissal 
and insist as the condition of my returning 
to the Cathedral that I should sever all con- 
nection with the Army? 

He will admit that the Army has done 
great good to the city and parish. I admit 



so Henry Wilson 

that on certain occasions things have been 
said and done which gave great offence to 
earnest Christians and were painful to me, 
which I hope will not be repeated. 

For any fault or scandal which my pres- 
ence on those occasions may have caused I 
am sincerely sorry, and ask the forgive- 
ness of God and those offended. Now my 
proposition to the Dean is this : 

I hereby express my sincere regret for 
any real offence to God or man which has 
been given by my connection with the Sal- 
vation Army and to show the sincerity of 
this acknowledgment I hereby promise in 
case of my return to the Cathedral to ab- 
stain from all those larger demonstrations 
of the Army which have given so much 
offence to many good people, such as the 
marriages, etc. 

I simply claim the privilege of attending 
when possible, and without interfering with 
my parish duties proper, the ordinary meet- 
ings of the Army, especially the Monday 
and Friday meetings, the first a private 
meeting of the converts for instruction in 
God's work, and the second a holiness 
meeting, generally as quiet and orderly as 
that of a church congregation. 



His Early Church Career 51 

Practically these two will be about the 
only meetings I shall be able to attend in 
the week, and they have been so greatly 
blessed to my own soul and that of hun- 
dreds of our own people that I shall be very 
sorry to miss them. 

It shall be remembered also that it is not 
simply my own good that I have sought at 
these meetings, but that a large number of 
our own church people, whom I was never 
able to reach personally before, and who 
have testified publicly and privately to the 
help I have been to them. 

Now I do hope that both you and the 
Dean will see the reasonableness of my 
position and that he will not press his ulti- 
m.atum of my severing all connection with 
the Army, but be content with my giving 
up that portion of my connection with it 
which has given so much oflFence and allow 
me to attend those ordinary meetings which 
be himself will acknowledge have been 
fruitful in so much good to many of our 
people." ' 

This, my Lord, is the substance of my 
letter to Mr. Kirkpatric, and I think you 
will see that I have met the Dean half way 
and conceded as much as a man of honor 



52 Henry Wilson 

can for the sake of peace and restoration to 
my people. I have quoted the words of 
your letter to Mr. Carson, "If Dr. Wilson 
promises to avoid/' etc., and say / do this, 
and so I hope your Lordship will use your 
influence with the Dean to agree to the 
compromise and enable me to return to my 
work as soon as possible. With every re- 
spect, I am, my Lord, 

Your faithful serv^ant, 

Henry Wilson. 



Ottawa, Jan. 19. 
i\Iy Dear Dr. Wilson. 

On receipt of yours of the 12th inst. I 
forwarded it to the rector of Kingston. He 
replied as follows: 

'^I do not see the least advantage to be 
gained on one side or the other by examin- 
ing details. It simplv am.ounts to this. He 
will and he won't. Therefore my decision 
is that he cannot return here as curate of 
Kingston." 

I cannot bring any pressure on your late 
rector to bring about your reinstatement as 
curate for many reasons, because I do not 
see how you can with any self-respect and 
regard to honor accede to the condition 



His Early Church Career 53 

imposed by the Dean ; viz., that you should 
give up all connection with the Salvation 
Army. 

It is not merely that you pledged yourself 
to ''nail your colors to the mast," but that 
you had a direct revelation from God's 
Holy Spirit forbidding you to do so; that 
is, to withdraw from the grotesque in the 
Army's performances. 

I had hoped that you were betrayed into 
your eccentricity by cerebral excitement 
which is the verdict of the infidel papers, 
but I see now that you intend to persevere 
in the course you have adopted. 

Of one thing you may be sure, I am in- 
tensely grieved and saddened beyond my 
power of expression. I am, as ever, 
Faithfully yours, 

J. T. Ontario. 
Rev. Henry Wilson. 



St. George^s Rectory, 

New York, Jan. 25. 
My Lord. 

Your letters of Jan. 16 and 19 seem to 
close the door against my return to the 
Cathedral and I suppose to your diocese. 
I must therefore ask your Lordship to 



54 Henry Wilson 

give me as soon as convenient my ''Bene 
Decessif that I may obtain a position else- 
where. 

As my connection with the diocese will 
then cease, I beg to resign the position of 
chaplain to your Lordship. 

I am, my Lord, yours faithfully, 

Henry Wilson. 



Ottawa, Feb. 2. 
My Dear Dr. Wilson. 

I received yours of Jan. 27 with great 
sorrow and regret that you are still deter- 
mined to throw in your lot with people cap- 
able of such extravagances as those re- 
corded in the Kingston papers of Jan. 28. 

I shall send you your ''Bene Decessif 
when you inform me as to the name of the 
Bishop to whom the document is to be ad- 
dressed, and the diocese to which you de- 
sire to be transferred. I am, 
Yours faithfully, 

J. T. Ontario. 
Rev. Henry Wilson. 

P. S. I hereby accept your resignation 
of your office as my chaplain. 

J. T. Ontario. 



His Early Church Career 55 

Toronto, Feb. 8. 
My Lord. 

My purpose after settling my affairs in 
Kingston next week is to go to New York 
and be attached to the clerical staff of St. 
George's Church, under Mr. Rainsford as 
rector, and the Right Rev. Dr. Potter as 
assistant Bishop of New York. If your 
Lordship will therefore have my ''Bene 
Decessif made out in accordance with the 
above, and will forward it to me to Kings- 
ton I shall be much obliged. I am, my 
Lord, 

Yours faithfully, 

Henry Wilson. 



Thus the scene closes. Alas, the pathos 
of it ! Picture to yourselves a man of God, 
who, for conscience' sake, turned his back 
on all that was dear (and very dear, as his 
own letters declare) to him and with his 
two motherless children, left a city full 
of loyal and heart-brcken people (who had 
no power to work against a system) and 
faced a dark and uncertain future, and then 
answer for yourselves the questions so 
beautifully put in the following verse: 



56 ' Henry Wilson 

''Speak History! Who are Life's heroes? 

Unroll thy long annals and say. 

Are they those whom the world called the victors 

Who won the success of a day, 

The Martyrs or Nero, the soldiers who fell at 

Thermopylae's tryst, or 
The Persians and Xerxes, Pilate or Christ?" 

I prefer to draw the veil of silence over 
what follows till once again I lift it over 
his bier in the old Cathedral setting a quar- 
ter of a century later, and hear the words 
spoken by the present Dean Farthing in ref- 
erence to his late career. 

He testified to the depths of feeling in 
the congregation at his death. 

''Dr. Wilson has left a lasting influence. 
No matter how much one could disagree 
with his latter convictions, they could not 
deny the simple earnestness of hir life and 
the sincerity of his work. 

"He had been connected with the Cathed- 
ral for eighteen years and no man has ever 
left a deeper impress on the spiritual life of 
the city/' 

Fair praise to honored dust! And if 
perchance his spirit caught the words "be- 
yond the veil" methinks he looks upon them 
now and loves them still. And because I 
thought he did I took him to them that 



His Early Church Career 57 

over the little mound of earth, beside his 
other loved ones, they might pay loving 
tribute to his precious memory, and I think 
I might surely add that "were every one to 
whom he did a loving service to bring a 
blossom to his grave he would sleep to- 
tiicfht beneath a wilderness of flowers/' 



CHAPTER IV. 

LIFE IX ST. George's, new york. 

AFTER this sad turn of events Dr. 
Wilson found in the home and the 
heart of St. George's rector (Rev. 
WilHam S. Rainsford, D. D.) the wel- 
come so dear to a man when called upon 
to say good-bye to all he had loved so 
dearly heretofore, and if one kind act can 
be counted as more valuable than another, 
it must be when it comes in an hour of 
need, and therefore the generous accept- 
ance of my father as curate in St. 
George's, New York, made a link of fond 
fellowship with its rector which was 
never severed. And even to the end, 
''Rainsford, the dear fellow," was the 
term he used in referring to him : and 
framed at the foot of his bed hung a pic- 
ture of his handsome rector, 'Tor I like 
to look at him when I pray for him each 
morning," my father would say. 

For seven years, from the year 1884 till 
1891, my father was the head assistant of 
the clergy house, where the mornings 



Life in St. George's 59 

were often given to the study of Greek 
and Hebrew with the younger clergy. As 
a parish visitor Dr. Wilson was invalua- 
ble, for having passed through much sor- 
row himself he knew how to comfort 
those who themselves were passing 
through deep waters. 

He always said he never was a preacher 
— that parish visiting was what was most 
dear to him in church life — getting near 
the hearts of the people. And truly, he 
was most fitted for his calling. 

On one occasion during a severe ill- 
ness of Dr. Rainsford he was called upon 
to preach for nearly a year, and when I 
pleasantly one day asked him if he were 
going to FILL Dr. Rainsford's place in the 
pulpit, with a subtlety quite equal to my 
suggestion, he smilingly replied, "No, I 
am only going to rattle around in it.' 

I modestly suggested that the differ- 
ence between his and Dr. Rainsford'* 
standing was not a matter of two feet — 
simply one inch — and no man by taking 
thought could add one inch to his stature. 
Therefore from a Biblical point of view 
he could at least hold his ground, if not 
his audience. 



6o Henry Wilson 

In the early days of his ministry in St. 
George's, New York, he made it a point 
of getting around to see and call on the 
people. Among the names on his list was 
one 'Totter/' Somewhat under the im- 
pression that he had heard that name in 
the theatrical profession, he entered a 
very beautiful home and met its hostess. 
After a little time the conversation led in 
the direction of the home and the church, 
and my father asked the lady if her good 
husband attended any church, whereupon 
this answer was made, that ''truly he was 
not a very regular attendant at any church 
— he was rather inclined to go around a 
good deal," and upon my father suggest- 
ing that that was not the wisest way of 
being a good churchman, the conversa- 
tion ceased with the remark that the lady 
hoped some day she might introduce her 
husband. 

Imagine my father's surprise and 
amusement when, accepting an invita- 
tion from this same house, he was intro- 
duced to the ''good husband" as no other 
than his Bishop, Henry C. Potter, D.D. 

Amongst other work done at St. 
George's was the opening of Avenue A 



Life in St. George's 6i 

Mission. For many Sundays my father 
strove on purely evangelical lines to win 
this mixed and moving mass of human- 
ity to Christ. 

Those were hard fighting days, not un- 
like the early days of Salvation Army 
warfare. One's power of leadership was 
often put to the finest test, if leadership 
from a mission standpoint means to win, 
hold and impress a crowd. 

Ejaculations of the crowd varied the 
eloquence of the preacher, and many 
amusing and sometimes annoying sug- 
gestions came from the "pit," if I may use 
such theatrical language in connection 
with the type of humanity, and the 
preacher found it difficult to make heaven 
real in that smoky atmosphere, for it was 
only the back of a saloon turned into a 
mission room, for so many hours on Sun- 
day at first, and the tone of the other 
life had hardly left it when the meetings 
were started. To win souls under those 
circumstances was no ceremonious act. 
Down with them and down to them, in 
fact, everything but ''down on them/' 
was the attitude in order to reach them. 
And no doubt when the record is made 



62 Henry Wilson 

up Avenue A will show some fruit, per- 
haps as yet unseen. My very first insight 
into work amongst the unfortunate was 
received from my attendance on Sunday 
afternoons at those services, and although 
I have now been an officer in the ranks 
of the Salvation Army for eighteen years 
I have no doubt that the first knowledge 
of the value of that kind of work came to 
me through what I saw and knew of that 
effort. 

On one occasion my father asked Dr. 
Rainsford to address the people in the 
very early days, when the behaviour of 
the crowd was hardly to be relied on, but 
as nicely as my father could he suggested 
that they might be a little careful and 
somewhat respectful when Dr. Rainsford 
appeared. 

Just what they expected to see in Dr. 
Rainsford I know not, but when my fath- 
er politely introduced him, saying, ''Now, 
boys, this is your rector. Dr. Rainsford," 
with mock humility, they scanned his 
dignified, stately figure (surmounted by a 
top hat) and smilingly said to my father, 
"Now wont he be a comfort to his mother 
when he grows up." A little disconcert- 



Life in St. George's 63 

ing to say the least, to a dignified parson, 
and an Irishman at that! Whether there 
were "wigs on the green" at the conclu- 
sion of that service I cannot say, but an 
interested party at the back kept punc- 
tuating the sermon with the remark, 
"What's he talking about?'' — an unbrok- 
en thread of interrogation the sermon 
through. Like the importunate widow he 
got what he wanted for asking, but to 
be very honest, I fear he got more than 
he bargained for, and I think he'll have 
to come again to hear the end of that ser- 
mon if he still wants to know what it's all 
about. 

My father's talks with the children 
from the pulpit of St. George's on Satur- 
day morning were sources of great help 
and blessing to many older people who 
brought their children, and in a little book 
entitled "Talks to Children," he put in a 
concise form the truths contained in those 
object lessons. 

His fondness for children was in- 
describable. In all his ministry to 
grown up people he never forgot 
the children, and even in his summer 
work at Southampton, Lonj;' Island, 



64 Henry Wilson 

the little Dune Church was open each 
Sunday of his officiating for an afternoon 
service in object lesson for the children, 
and grown men to-day who fill pulpits of 
different denominations will doubtless 
recall the helpful and interesting Sunday 
afternoon talks of Dr. Wilson, when as 
children they attended his services. 

When there came to my father a call 
from the Gospel Tabernacle Church, New 
York, he wishing to ally himself with its 
truths and teachings voluntarily resigned 
his position in St. George's Church, Dr. 
Rainsford accepted the resignation, and 
with hearts as warm and friendship as true, 
they parted, each to follow his light, with 
a mutual respect for the convictions of the 
other and a brotherly feeling to the end. 

Life in the clergy house was made 
doubly delightful by the presence of his 
co-worker. Rev. Lindsay Parker, whose 
Irish wit and good humor were of untold 
worth in hard and difficult parish work, 
and when I say they had a mutual admira- 
tion for each other I shall have to ask you 
to read further on the tribute of this dear 
friend, and for my part say, he (father) 
loved him as a brother. 




REV. WILLIAM S. RAINSFORD. 



Life in St. George's 65 

Those were days of much happiness, 
usefulness and blessedness in my father's 
life. We were being educated at Bishop 
Strachan's School in Toronto and our va- 
cations were spent in New York. So the 
home life of the clergy was known to us 
and Mr. Parker was ever the center of 
merriment and cheerfulness. Fitting, in- 
deed, that he should have been the one 
to pronounce the solemn and beautiful 
service over his silent form. 

My father was ever a ready helper to 
all organizations, and to individuals par- 
ticularly. His love for the Army con- 
tinued right through to the end. It was 
in the early days of his St. George's min- 
istry that the Army was little known to 
the more cultured and wealthy classes and 
when a note from the leaders at that time 
came to him, requesting that with his in- 
fluence he might do something in the way 
of introducing its principles and its lead- 
ers to this community after consulting 
with his rector. Dr. Rainsford kindly 
opened the drawing room of his rectory 
in i6th St., to the leader of the organiza- 
tion, and with this simple opening the en- 
tree to a wider sphere of usefulness was 



<S6 



Henry Wilson 



given, and to-day the Army has made 
and kept friends who otherwise might 
never have known of its work. 

That was the first drawing room meet- 
ing I had ever attended, and it had its re- 
sults at least in my case, if not in many 
others. 

Dr. Wilson was ever a man of princi- 
ple. No amount of personality or indi- 
viduality ever took his eyes off the great 
basic principles on which the organiza- 
tion was founded. His profound respect 
for the sincere Salvationist never changed 
and when, after sixteen years of service 
on my part in its ranks, he stood with 
me on the spot where I had first given 
myself to God, he repeated emphatically 
that in the giving of me to its service he 
had no regrets, and publicly stated he be- 
lieved I would be kept faithful to the end. 
He believed wholly in its principles and 
those who lived up to them^ found in him 
an ever ready friend, and those who were 
untrue he pityingly prayed for and endeav- 
ored to win them again to their highest 
calling. 

His prayers were sought even by 
those who, like himself, were busilv en- 



Life in St. George's 67 

gaged in God's service, I quote from a let- 
ter showing their confidence in him. 

''To me there is no more perplexing 
situation than one in which strength does 
not keep pace with spirit. Yet it is an 
unanswered question to me how much 
God's hand may not be outstretched in 
this mystery of pain. However, I have 
the greatest confidence in your faith and 
in your prayers and in your ability to lay 
petitions before Almighty aid, and when, 
seeing your daughter, I could not refrain 
from sending you the request for your re- 
membrance and your prayer. Although it 
is much easier for me to believe for others 
than for myself, especially where my own 
comfort and well being is concerned, yet 
I feel sure if it is God's will for me 
your prayers will be answered in my phy- 
sical strengthening and helping." 

In the event of a great sorrow General 
Booth wrote my father personally. He 
says, ''Yes, indeed, it has been a great 
sorrow, but I try to get above it, for He 
knows all about it, and nothing happens 
to either you or me outside His appoint- 
ment or permission. It has been a great 
mystery throughout and is a mystery 



68 Henry Wilson 

still, but I have been greatly cheered by 
the steadfastness of my comrades, and 
many outside our ranks I know have not 
seen reason to doubt either my own truth 
and honor or the principles on which the 
Army is founded. 

"It is probable I shall have the great 
pleasure of meeting you in the fall. Till 
then, or till we meet before the throne, 
believe me, dear Doctor, and dear friend, 
to be yours faithfully and affectionately, 
"William Booth." 

And the last picture I have before me 
of the meeting and parting of these two 
good men was when on the General's re- 
cent visit to America (1907) from the 
public platform of the Carnegie Hall, my 
father's hand was raised and voice uplift- 
ed in holy benediction over the bowed and 
silvered head of the old Christian soldier. 
Truly a fitting close, methinks, to the 
end of an earthly scene, till the dawn of 
the brighter day, and the v/elcome home 
beyond. 

The General ever remembered my 
father's brave stand for the Army prin- 
ciples and on one or two occasions when 
he met my father again and people under- 



Life in St. George's 69 

took to jog the Generars memory as to 
my father's personality, the General used 
to say, "He needs no introduction, I 
knov/ him of old." 

Colonel Cox, a leading officer for many 
years in the ranks of the Army, writes as 
follows on my father's character: 

*'Those who attended the funeral ser- 
vice of the Army's dear friend, Dr. Henry 
Wilson, heard, among other characteris- 
tics, the Doctor's faculty for denunciating 
hypocrisy and sham and sin in general, to 
balance which he possessed to an almost 
mfinite degree the capacity of loving and 
helping the sinner and returning prodi- 
gal when true repentance had set in. 
This balance must be preserved in the 
Christian life. Christ Himself is our Ex- 
emplar in the matter. 

"His earthly ministry was filled with 
conspicuous illustrations, scathing de- 
nunciation, in which such phrases as 'den 
of vipers' was not thought too extreme for 
use, and in which a whip-cord was also 
introduced on one occasion to lend force 
to the Saviour's words. But oh ! what in- 
finite tenderness and compassion he dis- 
played toward the repentant sinner. In 



70 Henry Wilson 

condemning, the Saviour^s rod was one 
of iron; in consoling His compassion was 
greater than even woman possesses. 
What a wonderful combination !" 

The Salvation Army was represented 
at Dr. Wilson's funeral service by Col- 
onels Mclntyre, Cox, Margetts, and 
Rheinhardson ; Brigadiers Lamb, Atkin- 
son and Mrs. Bovill, and other officers. 

Colonel Cox refers to my father's 
death in the following paragraph: 

"The sad news of the sudden death of 
that saintly character and well-known 
friend of the Salvation Army, Rev. Dr. 
Henry Wilson, will come with a shock to 
many of our readers. As a spiritual teach- 
er and expounder of pure evangelical truth 
Dr. Wilson's name was revered on more 
than one continent. 

"The doctor was never tired of witness- 
ing to the spiritual blessing that came to 
him through attending Army meetings 
in the early days of the fight at Kingston, 
Ont., while connected with the Episcopal 
Church in that Canadian city. Both at 
that time and during the many 3^ears that 
have elapsed since his coming to the 
United States, the doctor has shown in a 



Life in St. George's yi 

thousand ways the high regard he has en- 
tertained for the work of our organiza- 
tion and for its workers. It was his privi- 
lege to enjoy the friendship of many of 
the leading officers, from the General and 
Commander down, and the Army, togeth- 
er with the Christian world at large, has 
sustained in his death a severe loss. 

*'The doctor was taken ill while attend- 
ing a religious convention at Atlanta, Ga., 
on Thursday, February 13th. Pneumo- 
nia rapidly set in, and at midnight, before 
his daughters could reach him, he had 
passed away to his eternal reward. 

"To the daughters-, one of whom. En- 
sign Madele Wilson, has for many years 
been an officer in our ranks, and to the 
other bereaved relatives, we tender our 
sincerest sympathy, and ask for the pray- 
ers of our comrades everywhere." 

And now we shall look upon his last 
field of service, and trace how God hon- 
ors men who dare stand up for the high- 
est truths in a skeptical and material age, 
and learn that to such souls rare treasure 
is given — ''treasure in heaven." 

I can but think of my father when I re- 
call the beautiful leg-end which tells of a 



72 Henry Wilson 

saintly man who was greatly beloved of 
the angels, who had seen much of his 
godly life on earth. 

The angels often asked God to give this 
man some new power, some mark of the 
Divine favor, some gift which would 
make him more useful. 

They were told to see the man and ask 
him what special power he would like to 
have. 

The angels came and asked him what 
gift he would choose that God might be- 
stow upon him. 

He said he was content and wanted 
nothing more. 

They continued to urge him to choose 
something which God might do for him 
or give to him. 

Would he not like to have the power to 
perform miracles? He said, No ! that was 
Christ's work. Would he not like to lead 
a great many souls to Christ? He an- 
swered, No! for it v/as the work of the 
Holy Spirit to convert souls. 

The angels still begged him to name 
something which they might ask God to 
grant him. He answered at last that if 
he made a choice he would like power to 




REV. LINDSAY TARKER. 



Life in St. George's "j^i 

do a great deal of good among men with- 
out even knowing it. So it was from that 
day his shadow, when it fell behind him 
where he could not see it, had wonderful 
healing power, but when it fell before 
him where he could see it, it had no such 
power. 

"This is the spirit of true holiness, noth- 
ing of self, everything for God. One who 
has learned this lesson is ready for no- 
ble service. God loves to use the life that 
will keep itself out of sight and only hon- 
or Him." (J. R. Miller, D.D.) 

A beautiful legend, truly, and one, I 
think, that aptly fits my father's beautiful 
personality. 



CHAPTER V. 

HENRY WILSON AND THE CHRISTIAN AND 
MISSIONARY ALLIANCE. 

DR. WILSON'S experience of healing 
brought him into close touch with 
the movement which had already 
begun to take form in New^ York City 
and throughout the country, and which 
was destined to grow to larger propor- 
tions than either he or the founder of the 
movement could have realized. The 
blessing that had come to him in connec- 
tion with the Gospel Tabernacle, New 
York, had already reached far and wide, 
and there were many calls for the leaders 
in the work to visit various parts of the 
country and hold conventions for the 
teaching of these deeper truths. In order 
to prevent the work from becoming iden- 
tified with the name and personality of 
any leader, in the year 1887 it was organ- 
ized under two charters, namely, "The 
Christian Alliance," and "The International 
Missionary Alliance," which were after- 
wards incorporated, in the year 1897, as 



Christian and Missionary Alliance 75 

'The Christian and Missionary Alliance/' 
This movement has always had a twofold 
character, spiritual and missionary. It 
has stood for a deeper Christian life and 
a more aggressive work for the neglected 
classes in this and other lands. 

Into this movement from the beginning 
Dr. Wilson threw his whole heart and in- 
fluence. The truth of Divine Healing, 
which had brought such blessing to him, 
was but a straw upon the stronger cur- 
rent of truth and life which the Alliance 
represented and which he sometimes hap- 
pily expressed as ''a whole Christ for the 
whole man — spirit, soul and body.'' Along 
with John Cookman, Mr. Simpson and 
many others. Dr. Wilson united with the 
new society and became one of its incor- 
porators and officers. It was in no sense 
a sectarian or denominational movement, 
requiring its promoters or members to 
withdraw from their regular church con- 
nections, but a fraternal union of Chris- 
tians of all evangelical denominations. 
Therefore it brought about no rupture 
in his ecclesiastical relations at the time, 
but he still continued to minister in asso- 
ciation with Dr. Rainsford in St. George's 



y(> Henry Wilson 

great parish, and to visit the Tabernacle 
and the Alliance conventions at his con- 
venience. In this and in his subsequent 
and closer connection with the Taberna- 
cle, as one of its regular pastors, he al- 
ways had a perfect understanding v/ith 
his ecclesiastical superiors in the Protes- 
tant Episcopal Church, and acted to the 
close of his life with the full consent of 
the late Bishop Potter, who treated him 
in the most considerate and Christian 
spirit. From the very beginning he was 
the President of the International Mission- 
ary Alliance, and under his oversight sev- 
eral hundred of our first and best mis- 
sionaries went forth to various foreign 
fields. 

In the year 1891 he was cordially in- 
vited to become the associate pastor of 
the Gospel Tabernacle Church, Nev/ 
York, 44th Street and Eighth Avenue, 
the senior pastor's public duties in con- 
nection with the work of the Alliance 
making it imperative that he should have 
a coadjutor. Here for about ten years 
his faithful and affectionate ministrations 
continued until he was called to the larger 
ministry of Field Superintendent of the 



Christian and Missionary Alliance "J"] 

work of the Alliance at large in this coun- 
try. Dr. Wilson gave at the Commemor- 
ation services of the Quarter Centennial 
of the Gospel Tabernacle, one year before 
his death, the following touching remin- 
iscence : 

"An old theatre, transformed into a 
Christian place of worship, an earnest 
man preaching the Fourfold Gospel, be- 
hind him in gold letters on the wall the 
text *The Lord thy God in the midst of 
thee is mighty.' Before him a group of 
people listening intently to every word ut- 
tered. Among them a minister, happy in 
soul, but sick in body, drinking in the 
message full of a truth he needed greatly, 
but which he had never heard before. A 
few more meetings with more such teach- 
ing and the sick man kneels at the altar 
rail, is anointed for healing, and passes 
out into a new life of victory over disease 
which has been continuous without a 
break for mor*' than twenty-three years. 
Seven years a; d a half of service in a 
great church made easy by the indwelling 
of a living Christ in soul and body. Then, 
in October, 1891, the work of associate 



78 Henry Wilson 

pastor in the Tabernacle, began, and with 
it a life of increased blessedness in going 
from house to house in joy and sorrow, 
in sickness and health, among the young 
and old, endeavoring to fulfil the Lord's 
command to His restored disciple, "Feed 
My lambs. Feed My sheep. Shepherd 
My flock.'^ The joy of this service can 
never be expressed in words, but the sick 
man healed still lives to praise God for 
the privilege of 'living and giving' his 
best to the scattered members of the Tab- 
ernacle congregation, and of comforting 
those in any trouble with the comfort 
wherewith he himself has been comfort- 
ed of God/' 

One would naturally ask. What were 
the considerations that could induce a 
man of such wide culture, such great use- 
fulness in his own beloved denomination, 
and such Christian intelligence and loy- 
alty to Christ and His Word, to take such 
a decisive step at a critical period of his 
life, leading to his withdrawal from so 
many of the most hallowed associations of 
his past life and his devoting his best 
years to a work that as yet was not popu- 



Christian and Missionary Alliance 79 

lar in the religious world, and could offer 
him few inducements on the score of per- 
sonal advantage or aggrandizement? 
This necessarily leads to a brief examina- 
tion of the principles of the Alliance 
movement which possessed for his heart 
so compelling an attraction. 

During the past quarter of a century 
the Church of God has been deeply stirred 
by various movements looking to a high- 
er standard of spiritual life. Among 
these have been the great movement of 
Charles Finney some years before, the 
various holiness movements of the past 
generation, the Keswick movement, 
which began about this time in Dr. Wil- 
son's life, and the testimony of the Salva- 
tion Army, with which he had been so 
closely associated, on the subject of Scrip- 
tural holiness. Dr. Wilson discovered 
in the Alliance movement a vein of truth 
in this connection which seemed to him to 
touch a higher level and possess a more 
attractive quality than any other teaching. 
We cannot better express the way in 
which this line of truth impressed him, than 
by some quotations from his own felic- 
itous testimonies and writings. It will be 



8o Henry Wilson 

seen from these that the kind of hoHness 
which Dr. Wilson claimed and taught was 
not self-perfection, nor even an experi- 
ence of mere cleansing, so much as a reve- 
lation of and identification with the Per- 
son of the Lord Jesus Christ, which made 
it literally true, "I live, yet not I, but 
Christ liveth in me/' In one word, it was 
not the self-life, but the Christ-life. 

'^To the average Protestant it is the 
'Historic Christ,' as the phrase is, in all 
the beauty of His moral character, charm- 
ing the mind, if not warming the heart of 
Christendom; 'chief est among ten thou- 
sand and altogether lovely.' 

"To the devout Catholic it is the pres- 
ence of the body of the Crucified Jesus, to 
be (i) worshipped, and (2) partaken of, 
under the 'species,' as the word is, of 
bread and wine. 

"But even among Christians who pro- 
fess to have gone farther than the 'His- 
toric Christ' school, and much farther 
than those who hold the 'real presence' in 
the sacrament, the tide of 'devotion,' to 
use again the word of the schools, hardly 
rises higher than the teaching of the fa- 



a 
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tn 

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Christian and Missionary Alliance 8i 

mous book of a Kempis. There are holi- 
ness movements of to-day headed by no- 
ble men of God; led by profound students 
of the Word; taught by great preachers 
of entire sanctification and holy living, 
which at their highest point seldom pass 
beyond the idea of an external Christ, call- 
ing and charming us to follow Him, and 
by following become like Him. 

''But surely there is something more 
than this in Christ for the lowly soul and 
the believing heart. 

''Three words similar in sound may 
also serve to accent the difference in de- 
gree, if not in kind, between these modes 
of presenting 'the truth as it is in Jesus' — 
imitation, inspiration, incarnation in 
Christ. 

"Incarnations and reincarnations are 
words much used these days and in var- 
ious senses. To us as Bible Christians 
the only incarnation worthy of the name 
is that which took place in Bethlehem of 
Judea nearly two thousand years ago, and 
the only reincarnation in which we be- 
lieve is that which takes place in the heart 
first and then in the life of all who are 
'born from above' in the sense in' which 



82 Henry Wilson 

Jesus used the words to Nicodemus in the 
third chapter of St. John; Christmas day- 
repeated daily in human lives ; Christ re- 
born, reincarnated in lowly hearts and 
yielded bodies; the whole Christ in the 
whole man 

'A living:, bright reality/ 

the soul filled with His soul, the mind 
with His mind, the body with His body, 
to the exclusion of all from each part of 
us that is not God and God-like. 

"It is no longer my mind, my mental- 
ity, trying to grasp and climb the rungs 
of the ladder of right thinking, and often 
falling back in nervous prostration and 
paresis, through the overstrain upon the 
mental faculties. It is the mind of Christ 
(I. Cor. ii. i6) ; His mind not only liv- 
ing and thinking in me, but energizing 
and vitalizing every department of my 
make-up — memory, imagination, purpose, 
plan, fore-thinking and after-thinking, 
prospect and retrospect, all alight and 
aflame with 'thoughts that breathe,' and 
soon finding utterance in Svords that 
burn/ " 

This intense realization of the living 



Christian and Missionary Alliance 83 

Christ inevitably led to a physical expe- 
rience just as distinct and divine as the 
profound internal experience already de- 
scribed. Therefore Divine Healing with 
him speedily passed from the phase of 
an incident to a great habit and law of his 
being. It ceased to be a mere healing, 
and became a divine life. Here again we 
are happily able to express his convictions 
and experiences in his own striking lan- 
guage. Writing three years before his 
death, he said: 

"If attaining one's majority gives a 
right to speak and act as not before, then 
this privilege is mine to-day, to say a few 
plain words as to what Divine Healing 
is after twenty-one years of unbroken 
peace and joy in believing in and living out 
the life also of Jesus in this mortal body. 

''First then, after twenty-one years Div- 
ine Healing is to me the incoming and in- 
dwelling of a new personality. It is a new 
man inside of the old, making the old new 
by this simple fact. It is texts of Scripture 
turned into fact. It is the words 'Christ 
in you' (Col. i. 2y^ made flesh and blood 
and bone and tissue. 'Christ dwelling in 
your heart by faith' (Eph. iii. 17) passes 



84 Henry Wilson 

from the page of the book into the heart 
and nerve centers of the man. 

^'Second, as a direct consequence of the 
first, Divine Healing is the continuous in- 
flow of a river of life into our whole be- 
ing from the indwelling body of Jesus 
Christ. The words of Isaiah Iviii. ii pass 
into fact. 'He shall make fat thy bones. 
Thy soul shall be like a watered garden 
and like a spring of water whose w^aters 
fail not.' 

''Divine Healing is to me after twenty- 
one years of experience the continuous 
overflow into the body and life of Jesus al- 
ready in the soul and spirit. Hence, Divine 
Healing, when thus understood, is a vic- 
torious life for the body. Not exemption 
from pain and sickness at all times, any 
more than the soul and spirit are at all 
times free from temptation, but victory 
over pain and sickness, but the continuous 
and overmastering inflow of the life of the 
Lord." 

We quote again from a letter to a 
friend : 

"Divine Healing is simply Divine 
Health ; that is, God's health infused into 
us, physically as well as spiritually, and 



Christian and Missionary Alliance 85 

making "the temple of the Holy Ghost'* 
as HEALTHY as it is HOLY. Holincss and 
health are simply different forms of the 
same thing, viz., God, the Holy and the 
Healthy One, filling the vessel He has 
made with Himself, and so full that sin 
and sickness, twin sisters of darkness, 
cannot stay in the same house with God, 
who is Light, and in whom there is no 
darkness at all. 

''The center and source of this divine 
health is the Lord Jesus Christ, now at 
the right hand of God, in His glorified 
humanity, like the sun in the center of 
the universe. The medium by whom this 
glorified humanity passes into ours is the 
Holy Ghost — the breath of God — the air 
of heaven, like the atmosphere surround- 
ing our earth and transmitting to it the 
light and life-giving powers of the sun in 
the heavens. This is the A, B, C of Di- 
vine Healing. 

"Let me give you four texts which have 
become flesh and bones and tissue and 
nerve-matter to me for over twenty-three 
3^ears. Ask the Holy Spirit to translate 
them into flesh and blood for you and you 
will rise out of your weakness and misery 



86 Henry Wilson 

as surely as the sun rises tomorrow morn- 
ing, or the little flower rises out of the 
dark, cold earth into the life-giving sun- 
shine of these lovely spring days. 

The first is : 

"Christ in you" (Col. i. 27). By a su- 
preme act of faith, realize those three lit- 
tle words as true for your body, and you 
will not lie under the power of disease 
twenty-four hours. 

The second is: 

"Christ liveth in me" (Gal. xi. 20). 
Make that true for your body by the faith 
of God, and disease must flee from the 
temple of the Holy Ghost as surely and as 
quickly as the fog lifts from the river in 
the light of the morning sun. 

The third is : 

"Greater is He that is in you than He 
that is in the world" (I. John iv. 4). Take 
this verity of God into the citadel of 
your being and 'Giant Despair,' with all 
his horrible brood of dark-faced children, 
will become a 'pigmy' at whom you can 
laugh in confident triumph till your life 
work is done. 

The fourth is : 

"The Lord thy God in the midst of 



Christian and Missionary Alliance 87 

thee is mighty' (Zephaniah iii. 17). This 
was the text that first flashed the truth of 
Divine Healing into my mind and worn- 
out body nearly a quarter of a century 
ago. It is still the door, wide open more 
than ever, through which the living Christ 
passes moment by moment into my re- 
deemed body, filling, energizing, vitaliz- 
ing it with the Presence and Power of 
His own personality, turning my whole 
being into 'a new heaven and a new earth,' 
each in living contact with the other, for 
there is 'no more sea/ 

"This one text from Zephaniah, and it 
is only the first part of the verse, gives 
five foundation stones for Divine Heal- 
ing on which you can rest your weary feet 
and your whole being with perfect assur- 
ance. 

"First— The Lord thy God.' Thy God. 
My God. Then all that is in God Al- 
mighty is mine and in me just so far as 
I am able and willing to appropriate Him 
and all that belongs to Him. 

"Second— This God, 'Mighty,' All 
Mighty God, is our inside God. He is, as 
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, 'in the midst 
of me' just as really as the sun is in the 



88 Henry Wilson 

center of the heavens, or like a great dy- 
namo in the center of the power-house of 
my threefold being. 

"Third — He is in the midst, at the cen- 
tre of my physical body. Hence my heart 
will be always steady and strono; in its 
action, and 'heart failure' in any sense 
will be unknown to me. 

"Fourth — He is in the midst of my 
brain, and every atom of the gray matter 
composing my mental plant v\all be a cen- 
tre of mental health and activity, like 'the 
mind of Christ' (I. Cor. ii. i6). Make this 
fact real to yourself b}" the Holy Spirit 
and mental fatigue, brain fag, worry, mel- 
ancholia and the care that kills will pass 
away like a nightmare in the fresh light of 
your waking hour. 

"Fifth — He is 'in the midst' of my nerve 
centers. Once that becomes a fact to 
you and in you, all the horrible experi- 
ences of nervous exhaustion, nervous de- 
pression, and its dreadful child, 'Nervous 
Prostration,' must die b}^ the sheer force 
of a new nervous vitality, touching the 
spinal marrow and all the various sources 
of nerv^'ous force in our mortal body. San- 
atoriums would soon be emptied, asylums 



Christian and Missionary Alliance 89 

would cease to exist, hospitals would go 
out of business, if these simple truths of 
God's Word were only realized and re- 
ceived into the bodies and souls of one- 
half of us who profess to take the whole 
Bible as the Word of God and believed 
as we say so often, from cover to cover." 

Space will not permit us to follow the 
religious views of our beloved brother 
into the further region of pre-millennial 
truth, which is one of the testimonies of 
the Alliance. Suffice it to say that he cor- 
dially embraced the blessed Hope of the 
personal coming of the Lord Jesus Christ 
and often spoke of it with fervor and deep 
solemnity. How often have we heard him 
close a testimony or a prayer with the 
beautiful lines: 

"Oh, come, and take away 

The sin, the shame, the pain. 
And make this blighted world of ours. 
Thine own fair world again." 

For the last seven years of his life Dr. 
Wilson was engaged in the larger work of 
the Christian and Missionary Alliance as 
its Senior Field Superintendent. His du- 



90 Henry Wilson 

ties called him to spend at least half his 
time in long and often trying journeys in 
every part of the United States and Can- 
ada. He traveled tens of thousands of 
miles every year and visited scores of 
cities, towns and villages from the Atlan- 
tic to the Pacific, and from Maine to Flor- 
ida. Often he v^as exposed to inclement 
weather, railway breakdowns, damp and 
cold rooms, irregular living and fatiguing 
labors. But he was always the same 
radiant and rejoicing example of the vic- 
torious life which he so beautifully por- 
trayed. In a sense the world became his 
parish and there is no section of the coun- 
try from which since his passing home 
the most touching tributes have not come 
to his character and usefulness to those 
to whom he was made a blessing. His 
peculiar gifts as a teacher, his charm as a 
man, his attractive and courteous man- 
ners, and his large-hearted Christian ca- 
tholicity commended the work which he 
represented to ail classes of Christians and 
all sections of the church and made him a 
connecting link between these deeper 
truths, and many influential individuals 
and families in the most exclusive social 



Christian and Missionary Alliance 91 

and ecclesiastical circles who could possi- 
bly have been reached in no other way. 
He was just as willing to go to the small- 
est village or the humblest branch of the 
Alliance as to a great popular assembly 
or a formal church service. He died in 
the harness of his chosen ministry, while 
attending a convention of the Christian 
and Missionary Alliance in the city of At- 
lanta, and trying to force himself in spite 
of all the symptoms of approaching illness 
to meet his appointments and finish his 
work. We must reserve to another chap- 
ter his connection with the missionary 
work of the Alliance which was so dear to 
his heart and so indebted to his ministry. 



CHAPTER VI. 

HENRY WILSON AND THE CHILDREN. 

THE simplicity of Dr. Wilson's char- 
acter made him the natural friend 
of the children. "B. B. B.," he 
loved to call himself, their Big Baby 
Brother, and one whoever saw him romp- 
ing among a group of children could nev- 
er doubt that he was really a grow^n-up 
boy. His work among the children was 
no mere studied professionalism. It grcAv 
out of an innate love and intuition which 
made him gravitate to them and them to 
him. He could scarcely sit on a public 
platform and behave himself if there were 
a number of little folks in the audience. 
He was almost sure to be caught making 
signals to them, laughing aloud in happy 
self-forgetfulness, or holding three or four 
of them on his knee. Very early in his 
ministry among us he found himself 
drawn into a distinct children's work. 
Long ago a quiet, modest lady amongst 
us, with a peculiar gift for a very high- 
class of children's work, organized a little 



The Children 93 

class known as the King's Children, and 
it was not long till Dr. Wilson was a 
moving spirit among them. This lady, 
Miss Brickensteen, writes the following 
beautiful testimony concerning his work 
in this connection: 

"When I began the work of the band, 
Dr. Wilson w^as a great factor in making 
all my plans and lessons attractive — a 
father to us all. He loved all children, but 
the King's Children seemed to be sealed 
as the 'inner circle.' In his busy life as 
pastor he was a frequent visitor of ours 
on Saturday mornings. I used to w^onder 
where he found the time, but he said it 
rested him if he could but give a few 
minutes before making his pastoral calls. 

'Tie was always natural and enjoyed 
their naturalness. He would talk with 
them and enjoyed nothing better than a 
good laugh. I thought too much so, 
when we had lessons on hand. But he 
would always close with a sweet prayer 
which was so helpful. The children were 
always impressed, and I noticed they 
would use his very w^ords to ex])ress 
themselves in tlieir little prayers. 



94 Henry Wilson 

"He told them many stories which they 
never forgot, and he loved to sing with 
them. The colored children were his spe- 
cial delight. There was a great depth and 
breadth about him — so true — which chil- 
dren always detect. They used to write on 
the blackboard in large letters where he 
would be sure to read it when he pre- 
pared his next Sunday's lesson for the 
Sunday school, T love Dr. Wilson.' One 
of them once wrote, T love Dr. Wilson 
next to God.' And I overheard her lit- 
tle neighbor remark, 'You ought to be 
ashamed of yourself; you ought to love 
your mother next to God.' The King's 
Children, you see, are naturally ortho- 
dox. The way Dr. Wilson handled chil- 
dren was an inspiration — so genuine and 
so graceful. Yes, the King's Children 
consider it the privilege of their lives to 
have been so closely associated with 
him." 

Many of these children have since 
grown up, and at a simple memorial ser- 
vice held at a late convention of the 
Christian and Missionary Alliance in New 
York City, several of them gave modest 



The Children 95 

and striking testimonies of what Dr. Wil- 
son had been to them. We are glad to 
quote a few of these memorial messages. 

"Our friends in the audience, who have 
listened so many years to the missionary 
lessons given by us, will appreciate our 
change of program at this time, whilst a 
few of the older members representing the 
band take for our subject, — dear Dr. Wil- 
son's life and work amongst the children 
as we remember our devoted friend. 

"How he loved us, and how much we 
loved him! And how privileged we were 
to have been so closely associated with 
him! 

"Many years ago, when our band of 
King's Children was formed, he was a 
great help to our leader in inspiring us with 
a love for the lost world, and sending out 
the message of salvation. 

"To-day we feel very lonely without him ; 
we miss his smile of encouragement and 
his hearty response from this platform, 
where he never failed to preside. 

"Jesus must have been homesick with- 
out him, so he was promoted to minister 
among the children around the throne. 



96 Henry Wilson 

''Here on earth he was chosen of God 
to stand at the front of the battle. His 
earnest prayers and spiritual talks always 
helped people ; his sympathy, too, and the 
comfort he dispensed wherever he went. 
He was the welcome guest in every home, 
and one of the foremost workers at con- 
ventions, giving God all the glory ; for the 
meek and lowly Jesus was his Companion 
all the day." 

''But in his work among children Dr. 
Wilson was pre-eminent, deepening and 
moulding their lives for Jesus. 

"One of the sweetest pictures we ever 
saw on this platform in connection with 
our work, was the dedication of two babies 
to the cause of missions ; Dr. Wilson, in 
perfect bliss, holding in one arm a dear 
little white baby boy, and in the other a 
black one, — spraying that their interest in 
sending the Gospel might begin in their 
cradles. 

"In the early days of our band Dr. Wil- 
son was a frequent visitor at our services. 
The very sight of him as he opened the 
door of Berachah Chapel was hailed with 
delight by teacher and scholar. It was the 



The Children 97 

event of the day to us, and it seemed as if 
he loved the very atmosphere that the chil- 
dren breathed. 

''His first question would be: 'What 
have my children been learning?' Then we 
were all placed in line, and answered ques- 
tions on the fourfold gospel or missionary 
lessons. Everything that we said seemed 
to charm him (mistakes included). He 
was always stirred when the little colored 
girls shouted in their native style : 'Let the 
blessed sunshine in.' He appreciated the 
naturalness which our teacher encouraged 
in children. 

"At the close of his visit he would lead 
in earnest prayer; and on our knees we 
would sing with him: 

" 'Give me a heart like Thine, 
Give me a heart like Thine, 
By Thy wonderful power. 
By Thy grace every hour. 
Give me a heart like Thine.' " 

''As children we remember Dr. Wil- 
son leading a very holy life, not grieving 
the Holy Spirit. He loved J^sus, he lived 
for Jesus, and he worked for Jesus — ^warn- 
ing- sinners and inviting them to come to 
the Saviour. He always emphasized that 
Jesus' blood alone could save.'' 



98 Henry Wilson 

"Dear Dr. Wilson had a passion for 
souls, especially the souls of the children, 
and we who have now grown up and ac- 
cepted Christ in His fulness realize that 
those gatherings for prayer have been an- 
swered. And now on this day when he 
always led our service in Jesus' name, we 
feel his spirit is here whilst he is yonder 
drinking in the fulness of Jesus." 

"Since the early days of our band which 
my friends have been describing, Dr. Wil- 
son took up a more extended work among 
children, speaking for Jesus and iniSuencing 
the lives of little ones from Maine to Cali- 
fornia and from Canada to Florida, reach- 
ing them by thousands not only by his 
presence, which was always an uplift, but 
by his timely messages in the children's 
page of the Alliance paper." 

The following testimony reaches us from 
the Pacific Coast: 

"I joined Dr. Wilson's Bible School 
when I was only seven years old. Then 
I used to hunt up the questions in the Con- 
cordance. Some of them were difficult, so 
that I studied the Bible a great deal. I can 
see now how it helped me, for in studying 
the Bible when we are young, we will not 



The Children 99 

forget when we are older. I am sure that 
he wants us to keep in mind all the beauti- 
ful verses and passages which we learned, 
and to live by them. 

''Dr. Wilson also gave grand talks, and 
was so happy and cheerful. I want always 
to live the same, so that others will see I 
have something in my heart that keeps me 
happy all the time. 

''I am sure we shall never know all the 
good that Dr. Wilson did until we get to 
heaven, where there will be a great num- 
ber of children as stars in his crown. He 
helped me to a higher life for Jesus." 

''What a radiant life we have to remem- 
ber in dear Dr. Wilson ! Yes, as our 'Cali- 
fornia Pink' has said : he was the happiest 
Christian we ever saw, and how we shall 
always treasure the memory of his little 
altar services in v/hich he was the central 
figure surrounded by a group of kneeling 
children, consecrating their lives to Jesus. 
He was our fragrant 'Lily of the Valley' 
in the garden of King's Lilies, whose 'blos- 
soms' told the story of salvation to the 
uttermost parts of the earth. 

"His last offering to Jesus was a chil- 



100 Henry Wilson 

dren's service in Atlanta, Ga., shortly be- 
fore he was called home. 

"His failing strength would scarcely per- 
mit him to be present at this gathering, and 
friends tried to dissuade him from going, 
but he answered: 'I must go; the children 
are waiting for me/ 

"From that time his hours here on earth 
were numbered, the angels were waiting 
for him as he sweetly fell into the arms of 
Jesus. Those who ministered at his bed- 
side said that it was a benediction to be 
near and witness this blessed translation 
into glory. His farewell song, as he was 
passing away amid heavenly visions, was: 

"'Jesus, I am resting, resting 
In the joy of what Thou art, 
I am finding out the greatness 
Of Thy loving heart/ 

" 'Precious in the sight of the Lord is 

the death of His saints.' " 

His children's meetings, which formed 
a feature of every convention that he at- 
tended, were veritable object lessons of a 
kind of kindergarten work not to be found 
in the manuals. It was a great sight to 
see him climbing a step ladder before his 
juvenile audience, or getting some of the 



The Children loi 

boys to climb it and then leap into his 
arms, as an illustration of faith. Some- 
times he would illustrate the innate de- 
pravity of human nature and the unwil- 
lingness of sinners to accept the free 
grace of God without paying something 
for it, by offering a quarter to any boy in 
the audience that would come up and 
take it. Sometimes his ideas of human 
depravity went wrong and he found no 
lack of readiness on the part of the aver- 
age American boy to take a quarter for 
nothing, and he would laugh vociferously, 
as he told afterwards how he had lost his 
quarter. 

For many years he published a weekly 
children's talk in the Christian and Mis- 
sionary Alliance, and no matter where he 
happened to be he never forgot to pre- 
pare copy and send on the weekly page 
of B. B. B. It was quite remarkable how 
he took advantage of every place he hap- 
pened to be and of current happenings in 
the great world to find new themes 
around which to string his little pearls of 
Bible texts, fatherly teachings and amus- 
ing incidents to the delight and profit of 
his little parish on paper. This led to a 



I02 Henry Wilson 

wide correspondence between him and the 
little ones, and they have sorely missed 
him since that wild winter day in Febru- 
ary, 1908, when his spirit took its flight 
to join the ranks of myriads of glorified 
children above. 

A striking children's book, ''Bible 
Lamps for Little Feet,'' has been com- 
piled by Dr. Wilson himself, and widely 
circulated. It consists largely of selec- 
tions from his children's talks. A second 
volume of similar character, compiled by 
his daughter, is now in press, and will, v/q 
are sure, be one of the most prized souve- 
nirs of this gifted friend of the little chil- 
dren. 

For many years he officiated as super- 
intendent of the Gospel Tabernacle Sun- 
day school, and every Sabbath afternoon 
he had some unique and new message for 
his little friends. His work among the 
children took a very practical shape. One 
of the most important departments of our 
missionary work in India for many years 
has been the care of more than a thousand 
famine orphans. Their pathetic needs 
very soon found a generous response in 
Dr. Wilson's loving heart, and he lost no 



The Children 103 

opportunity of interesting his juvenile 
friends in praying and caring for the lit- 
tle brown babies across the sea, as he 
loved to call them. He took regular col- 
lections at his children's meetings for this 
fund and himself became responsible dur- 
ing the last several years of his life for 
the support of one hundred of them, se- 
curing the money from the children of 
his various classes, and faithfully meet- 
ing his annual pledge of $1,500.00. He 
gathered together a large number of the 
most simple and touching children's 
songs, many of them missionary songs, 
and it was beautiful to hear him singing 
with his little flock, 

"Jesus loves the little children, 

All the children of the world, 
Brown and yellow, black and white, 
They are precious in His sight 

Jesus loves the little children of the world." 

Dr. Wilson's love to the children reach- 
ed its culmination in a prayerful and at 
length successful enterprise in which he 
was a leading spirit to found in connec- 
tion with the Christian and Missionary 
Alliance, a school at Nyack for our young- 
er boys and girls where the Missionary 



I04 Henry Wilson 

Institute has already stood for so many 
years, for the Biblical and missionary 
training for those of maturer years. 
About a year and a half before his death 
he had the joy of seeing this school at 
length actually opened and a preliminmry 
building erected for its first classes. 
He was the first President of the 
Nyack Seminary and loyally and well 
did he fulfil his trust. He w^as pres- 
ent at the opening of the school in 1906 
and 1907 and at the first Commencement 
in 1907. He was chiefly instrumental in 
the preparation of the schedule of studies 
and the general plan of the school, and 
his counsel was invaluable in all the meet- 
ings of the trustees and faculty. He al- 
ways came to Nyack a little before the 
faculty was to meet, and then the children 
had the time of their lives. His last 
earthly ministry in New York w^as to take 
the train for N3^ack to attend a meeting 
of the trustees of the school and have a 
little visit with the children, and imme- 
diately passed on from this to Atlanta, 
never to return again. 

It was natural that the first thought in 
many hearts after he had been laid to 








< 




c 



111 



The Children 105 

rest should be to make this school a mem- 
orial of its founder and its friend. 
Soon after a fund was started for 
the purpose of completing the build- 
ing already begun, and paying off all 
indebtedness upon it, and thus erecting a 
commodious and attractive and yet inex- 
pensive edifice to be known in the com- 
ing years as the Wilson Memorial Acad- 
emy. This work has been steadily prose- 
cuted since its inception in May, 1908. 
As these pages go to press the new build- 
ing has been almost completed and the 
accompanying illustration will give a 
good idea of its grace and dignity. It 
has sufficient room for about 100 students, 
and only lacks a chapel to make the ac- 
commodations reasonably complete. About 
$11,000.00 have been contributed by 
less than 2,000 persons, mostly in mod- 
erate gifts from $T.oo to $50.00. The to- 
tal sum required and asked for is $30,000, 
and the friends of the work expect as the 
severe financial pressure of the past 
months passes away, and the value of the 
work is more and more appreciated, that 
the whole of this modest memorial offer- 
ing will be completed. 



CHAPTER VII. 

HENRY WILSON AS A MINISTER. 

WE pass by the story of his parish 
work in Kingston and St. George's, 
which another hand has more 
appropriately portrayed, and Hnger a little 
upon the seventeen years of his delightful 
connection with the Gospel Tabernacle 
Church. 

As a preacher Dr. Wilson would 
scarcely be called popular. He did not 
sway great masses of people with the pe- 
culiar gift of oratory, which so many of 
his countrymen enjoy; but he always ap- 
pealed to thoughtful minds and practical 
hearers. He was thoroughly evangelical, 
believing in the whole Bible with his 
whole heart, and having no patience with 
the modern drift of liberalism and higher 
criticism which so often deeply pained 
him, on the part of many of his brethren. 
In the midst of much of this kind of re- 
ligious teaching in the earlier years of 
his ministry he always lifted up a brave 
and faithful witness of Christ and the Bi- 
ble. Again, he preached Christ. He 



As a Minister 107 

knew Him in His person and work and 
had no room for any other gospel than 
the old gospel of the precious blood. Fur- 
ther, he was a most suggestive preacher. 
With his thorough scholarship and fa- 
miliarity with his Greek Testament, and 
all the principles of the most advanced 
exegesis, he discovered the hidden beau- 
ties in the idioms and phrases of Holy 
Writ, and brought out many a fine point 
of homiletic beauty and forcefulness. His 
series of papers on ''Veins of Truth in the 
Mines of God" is a treasure house of strik- 
ing thoughts and illustrations and we 
hope some early day will see the light of 
publication. Above everything else, he 
was a practical preacher. His own in- 
stinctive integrity made him hate all 
shams, hypocrisies and evil things. 'T 
have loved righteousness and hated in- 
iquity" might truly be recorded upon his 
monument. He was at times almost se- 
vere in the application of his inflexible 
moral standard. He seemed incapable of 
comprehending lying, dishonesty and evil 
speaking among the followers of Jesus 
Christ. It was his great delight in some 
of the meetings for deeper spiritual life 



io8 Henry Wilson 

that he led, to get the people who had 
long been cherishing grievances and 
grudges to confess their sins to each oth- 
er, and many such a scene of reconcilia- 
tion have we seen under his ministry. He 
had no patience with the people that 
talked about higher Christian life and 
lived the lowest kind of Christian life. He 
denounced with righteous energy the in- 
consistency of talking about the fourfold 
gospel, holiness and divine healing and 
not measuring up to it in actual experi- 
ence. And yet for the sinner, no matter 
how lost and degraded, he had the utmost 
tenderness and helpfulness. Like his 
Master, whose "woes" were all against 
the Scribes and Pharisees, and His tears 
for the publicans and harlots, so Henry 
Wilson loved to seek and save that which 
was lost. One of the last conversations 
the writer ever had with him v/as about 
a man whom he had knov\m years ago in 
England, and who had held a good social 
position there, but had come to him in 
this country in the depths of destitution 
and despair. He told, v\ath characteristic 
humor, how the poor fellow had crossed 
his path w^hile he was on his way to a 



As a Minister 109 

religious service in an elegant chapel, 
and how the man had refused to leave 
him, but followed him to the chapel and 
waited through the service, and still 
clung to him as he returned to his home, 
and later in the evening insisted on ac- 
companying him to the Gospel Taberna- 
cle, where evangelistic services were be- 
ing held by good John Robertson, and 
how the man was saved that night and 
by the grace of God and the help of Dr. 
Wilson, he had since picked up the 
dropped threads and was again living a 
decent, respectable life, and God was re- 
storing to him the years the locusts had 
eaten. Memory still loves to linger upon 
the tenderness and pathos with which he 
told the story, and the genuine wit of his 
description of himself in his silk hat and 
clerical dignity, going up and down the 
city that whole afternoon and evening 
with a drunken bum that his heart would 
not allow him to shake off. 

He was one of the most active workers in 
Avenue A Mission in the city of New 
York, established by St. George's church 
in the worst section of the East Side of 
New York, and it was his great delight 



no Henry Wilson 

to stand on the street corner in that, per- 
haps the darkest corner of the home 
heathenism of this great city, and preach 
and sing the Gospel to the crooks and 
bums and abandoned women and young 
hoodlums who formed the largest part of 
his audience. It was the same instinct 
that led him during the last years of his 
life to act as chaplain of the ]\Iagdalene 
Home for rescued girls at Inwood-on-the- 
Hudson. We are pleased to be able to 
append the testimony of the esteemed 
superintendent of that home regarding 
his influence and ministry in that typical 
mission. 

''It was in the year 1894 that Dr. Wilson 
came to the Magdalen Home as our Chap- 
lain. His work of nearly fourteen years 
with us were years of great blessing to us 
all. 

''The w^ork of helping others was very 
near to his heart and the influence of his 
life while with us will remain forever. In 
his earnest talks with our girls he brought 
simple Gospel truths forcibly to their 
hearts; urging them as he himself ex- 
pressed it in our last yearly report, to 'Let 
God use fire to burn up the chaff of the 



As a Minister iii 

past, to burn out the very remnants of the 
old life, and above all, to burn in the 
name and nature of Jesus Himself,' and 
again he adds, 'I thank God for the joy of 
ministering week after week to these un- 
fortunate women/ 

''To those of us who worked with him 
in the work of trying to rescue others he 
was ever an inspiration, a wise counselor 
and friend, R. Harrison, 

Superintendent Magdalen Home." 

There were few men in the city of New 
York who were in closer touch with all 
the rescue missionaries who constitute 
the brightest spiritual zone in all this 
dark metropolis. Mr. and Mrs. Ballou, 
of the Cremorne Mission; Colonel Had- 
ley, of St. Bartholomew's; dear S. H. 
Hadley, of Water Street; the Delaney 
sisters of Catherine Mission; the workers 
in the Bowery, Baxter Street and China- 
town; Miss Agnew, now Mrs. Stephens, 
and Miss Wray, of the Eighth Avenue 
Mission, and scores besides, had in him a 
comrade and a friend whose counsel and 
sympathy could always be commanded. 

For many years he was the President 



112 Henry Wilson 

of the successful Seamen's Christian As- 
sociation, on West Street, of which Mr. 
Stafford Wright is the eflficient and suc- 
cessful superintendent. We quote here a 
striking tribute from that mission to his 
work for them. 

"The 'Memorial' enclosed embodies our 
mutual appreciation of one who was our 
faithful friend and president for eighteen 
years. He came to us when our Associa- 
tion was in its comparative infancy, and 
helped us by his tender sympathy in our 
perplexities as well as in our happiness and 
prosperity. How could we ever doubt our 
Heavenly Father's love and care with Dr. 
Wilson's prayers and bright, cheering 
v/ords? Were I to write all that my own 
heart would dictate in regard to his asso- 
ciation with us as a band, and his en- 
couragement and inspiration to me in my 
official position, you would hardly have 
time or space to include it in your book. 
''Very sincerely 3^ours, 

''Emma M. Bangs/' 
"Secretary Seaman's Christian Mission: 

The following is a copy of the Memo- 
rial Resolution drawn up by the Seaman's 
Christian Mission: 



As a Minister 113 

"The Seaman's Christian Association 
sorely bereft (as were many organizations) 
by the sudden and overwhelming loss of 
Rev. Henry Wilson, D.D., would add lov- 
ing though inadequate tribute to his mem- 
ory. 

''Doctor Wilson had been our beloved 
President for nearly eighteen years, our 
faithful friend and adviser, sympathizing 
with us in our perplexities and rejoicing 
in our happiness and prosperity. His faith 
in the loving care and aid of the Al- 
mighty in every advancement we were 
enabled to make, encouraged and inspired 
us in the work of the x\ssociation from its 
earliest days. 

"Notwithstanding his busy life and nu- 
merous interests, he found many opportun- 
ities to visit our Gospel meetings and ad- 
dress the Seamen. His earnest words im- 
pressing and uplifting his listeners were a 
potent influence in winning souls. 

"In recording our great loss, we trust 
that his noble example and unswerving 
faith may prove an incentive to us all to 
press on with ever increasing devotion to 
the cause which we hold so dear. 

"Therefore, be it resolved that realizing 



114 Henry Wilson 

our affliction, we bow in submission to the 
will of God^ trusting for His guidance in 
our efforts to advance His kingdom, and 
that we tender our loving sympathy to the 
family of our beloved friend." 

One of the features of the early days of 
our work was a regular all-night prayer 
meeting once a mionth for the city mission 
workers of New York and vicinity, and 
Henry Wilson w'as almost invariably the 
leader of that meeting. It finally developed 
into the annual Rescue Day, with which the 
New York Convention of the Christian 
and Missionary Alliance has wound up its 
program for half a score of years. Dr. 
Wilson was always the moving spirit and 
the chairman of the committee in connec- 
tion with that great reunion, and these toil- 
ing reapers in the slums felt stronger for 
the touch of his hand and the light of his 
smile. 

But, above everything else, in his min- 
istry the glory of Dr. Wilson's parish 
work was his personal work as a visiting 
pastor in the homes of the stranger, the 
sick and the poor. No call was too sud- 
den, no journey too long, no tenement 
too far down town or too high upstairs 





\4 
o 



u 

w 

<; 
H 

w 

O 

O 



As a Minister 115 

for his heart to respond and his feet to 
fly with messages of consolation and 
love. Many and many a testimony have 
we heard respecting the fatherly tender- 
ness and comfort of his ministrations to 
the sick and the dying. Many a time has 
he hastened to the funeral of some poor, 
lone stranger simply because there was 
no one else to go. No work was quite so 
dear to him as this. He would often say, 
"I am not a great preacher, but I love to 
be among my people,'' and he hastened 
home from his long journeys and num- 
erous conventions to hurry away to Jer- 
sey City or Brooklyn, or Harlem or the 
downtown districts of New York to feed 
the feeble sheep and shepherd the lambs 
of the flock. His love to this work is 
best expressed in his own words. The 
following quotation is from his address at 
the Quarter Centennial of the Gospel 
Tabernacle in February, 1907. It gives 
us at once a picture of the man and some 
of the people whom God gathered around 
this center of light and love. 

"Though called away from time to time 
to superintend the Alliance work in the 
home field, and rejoicing to reach in this 



II 6 Henry Wilson 

way thousands outside the city of New 
York with the messages of the Gospel so 
dear to us, the man that was healed 
loves to come back as soon as possible 
and take up again the simple but delight- 
ful work of pastoral visitation and preach- 
ing his best sermons by the bedside of the 
sick and dying or helping them individ- 
ually to walk in victory over all the 
power of the enemy. And perhaps, dear- 
est of all to him, reading to the children 
in the home, the Sunday or day school 
and helping them to know by personal 
touch the Saviour who while on earth 
took the little ones up in His arms, put 
His hands upon them and blessed them. 

"'Oh! Saviour, blessed Saviour mine, 
What will Thy presence be 
If such a life of joy can crown 
Our walk on earth with Thee.' 

''The half has never yet been told, but 
perhaps we may have more time in eter- 
nity to tell the other half of the story that, 
to the writer at least, will never grow 
old. 

"And out of these twenty-three years' 
experience and fifteen years of pastoral 



As a Minister 117 

work in the Tabernacle what tender mem- 
ories rise ! Faces of faithful workers long 
since gone home to their rest in paradise 
and awaiting their reward when the Lord 
shall come. Some prominent on the plat- 
form, in the pulpit, preaching with power 
the word of Life. Some in the education- 
al work of the Alliance, men and women 
apt to teach and laying foundations for 
lives to build upon. Some who have gone 
out at the call of God from this 'Taber- 
nacle of Witness* to live, labor and lay- 
down life for Jesus and the souls of the 
heathen. Some in many a hard place in 
the home field, as truly missionaries as if 
they had suffered and died in Japan or 
on the borders of Tibet. Others, who 
'stayed by the stuff' and saved and prayed 
and sent others to represent them in the 
regions beyond. Others again, dear fath- 
ers and mothers, who trained their chil- 
dren to show piety at home first and then 
go at the call of God, and in places far 
or near as He might direct — make real to 
others what God had made real to them. 
"Among the ministers, who can ever 
forget the shining face of John Cookman, 



ii8 Henry Wilson 

whose presence in a meeting meant bene- 
diction and uplifting to us all. 

"Logical and profound Dr. Chappell, 
whose messages our students at Nyack 
will not soon forget, and others we can- 
not name here who from time to time, and 
out of other denominations came to our 
conventions, or for a time were teachers 
in our school, ministering to us the Bread 
of Life. 

''Among the first and ablest among the 
early helpers, among the godly women, 
come up the faces of dear Nellie Griffin, 
whose faithful teaching and life work 
were so beautifully portrayed by our pas- 
tor at her funeral in the hearing of the 
writer of this memorial. 

"And dear Miss Waterbury, than whom 
no truer heart ever beat in S3aTLpathy with 
the trials and triumphs of this Alliance 
work. 

"These are but specimens of others 
whose names are in the book of life 
though not recorded in this memorial. 
Out of the longer list of members of the 
Gospel Tabernacle, some resident in the 
city, others holding their letters from 
us though living and working in many a 



As a Minister 119 

distant place, at home or on the foreign 
field, we can mention just a few. 

*'And of the aged saints of that 1897 
year who can forget the strong Scotch 
face of dear John Henderson, who, 
morning after morning, every Sabbath 
day for many a year, looked up from his 
pla'ce in this Tabernacle into the face of 
the man of God who made Jesus so real 
to him from the Word of God. 

''W. H. Conley, of Pittsburgh, a man 
of great business capacity, and yet a great 
large-hearted Christian. Dear Albert P. 
Woodcock, one of our bravest Congo mis- 
sionaries, and a hero like him, though on 
a different field, Marcus T. Garrison. 
Pages would be needed to tell fully what 
this one man, his precious wife and fami- 
ly have been to this work at home and 
far away. 

*'On Oct. 13, 1897, there entered into rest 
that sweet simple-hearted man of God, 
tender as a woman and simple as a child 
in his faith, Mr. W. H. Burnham, of Ken- 
wood, N. Y. To complete this year's 
sheaf of garnered grain what name will 
be more tenderly remembered by the old- 
er members of this church than Dr. Am el- 



120 Henry Wilson 

ia Barnett, who, on Saturday, Dec. 26, 
1897, passed into the rest of God at the 
ripe age of eighty-four. One of the oldest 
woman physicians of the city, she was 
well called "the Good Samaritan,'" whose 
whole heart and life went out to help the 
needy and to heal the sick in soul and 
body. 

''And now, with only time to mention 
their names, holy faces and earnest lives 
pass before us, like Mrs. Crear, wife of 
our beloved treasurer; Mrs. Grant, over 
ninet}^ mother of dear Miss Proudfit; 
''Mother Clark," who is sureh^ in spirit 
sitting in her accustomed place in that 
seat at the end of the second row and 
taking her glad part in this holy service 
of to-day. Jennie Fuller, the woman apos- 
tle for the w^omen of India, with a com- 
pany of thirty-two others from our 
missionary force in that field, and all 
practically members of this church. 

"Leaving much unsaid of these and to 
others the recalling of many more on our 
list, we lay this simple tribute of tender 
memorial at the feet of Jesus, whose they 
are and whom they served so faithfully 



As a Minister 121 

here and are now in a fuller sense serving 
Him in heaven/' 

Nothing, perhaps, could better illustrate 
his shepherd heart than these personal ex- 
pressions of his love to every member of 
his flock. 




CHAPTER VIII. 

HENRY WILSON AND THE WORK OF FOREIGN 
MISSIONS. 

WE have already referred to the fact 
that Dr. Wilson was the first 
President of the International Mis- 
sionary Alliance. The larger number of 
our foreign workers w^ent out to the field 
during his term of office. A great wave 
of missionary enthusiasm sw^ept over the 
land and placed at our disposal for a little 
while a large amount of missionary mon- 
ey and a corresponding number of ear- 
nest and devoted candidates for the ne- 
glected fields of the world. Sometimes 
as large a party as twenty-five or thirty 
sailed from New York on the same steam- 
er for the Congo or the shores of India. 
It was a great sight on one of these occa- 
sions to see Dr. Wilson on the steamer's 
dock, in the midst of a vast crowd, sing- 
ing at the top of his voice some familiar 
refrain such as "God be with you till we 
meet again," and waving his handker- 
chief, while the party of a score or more 
on the steamer's deck responded with 



Foreign Work 123 

signal and with song, and many a tear 
fell fast because we felt regarding some 
of these loved ones that we should see 
their faces no more. It would take a 
long list to include all these cherished 
names. Among them were Clara Strom- 
berg, William Macomber and Sadie Fal- 
con of the Congo, Susie Beals of China, 
Jennie Fuller of India, and many more 
who have long since beckoned once 
more from the battlements of heaven as 
their spiritual leader passed into the ha- 
ven of rest and the long-parted ones were 
reunited to part no more. The great 
thought that stirred all hearts was the 
evangelization of the world in the present 
generation in order to hasten the person- 
al coming of the Lord. 

During this period several large com- 
panies of Swedish missionaries ofifered 
their services to the Christian and Mis- 
sionary Alliance under the leadership of 
Rev. William Fransen and Mr. Olsen of 
>yorth China. In order to come into 
closer touch with these earnest and de- 
voted brethren, who knew us only by 
name. Dr. Wilson was sent to Sweden 
as a representative of our Mission Board 



124 Henry Wilson 

and spent several weeks in conference 
with missionary leaders and candidates, 
examining the latter carefully, and finally 
approving of a large number who formed 
our second Swedish party to northern 
Shansi. This was a source of great en- 
joyment to him. He spoke through an 
interpreter to many large companies of 
Swedish Christians and became deeply 
attached to the simple-hearted, devout 
people of that Christian land. It was 
refreshing to hear him tell the story of 
his varied experiences after his return. 
He always saw the humorous side of ev- 
erything and had the gift of reproducing 
these pictures to the life. He was a 
great disciplinarian and believed in keep- 
ing the sexes well apart in their mission- 
ary journeying, for the sake of appear- 
ances as well as for the sake of the mis- 
sionaries themselves. But it was a great 
amusement to him, and he often told it 
for the amusement of others, to find that 
as his Swedes started to North China in 
two distinct parties, men and women, the 
latter far enough ahead of the men to en- 
sure well-ordered discipline and separa- 
tion, the ladies before long got tired and 



Foreign Work 125 

went so slow that the gentlemen soon ov- 
ertook them and the rest of the long jour- 
ney was made in company, all rules not- 
withstanding. When someone ventured 
to ask an explanation, one of the dear sis- 
ters of the Swedish party simply said : 
''Why of course, we likes the gentlemen, 
and the gentlemen likes we.'' It is only 
proper to say that no harm came from 
the simple manners of these dear people. 
They reached their field, accomplished 
their work, many of them became united 
in marriage, and most of them laid down 
their lives on the altar of martyrdom in 
the Boxer rebellion, where no less than 
twenty-nine of our own dear ones perish- 
ed for Jesus' sake. 

We have already referred, in connection 
with Dr. Wilson's work among the chil- 
dren, to his successful efforts to unite 
them in the support of the orphans of 
India and the children in other foreign 
lands connected with our mission sta- 
tions. One of the most interesting so- 
cieties in our work was known as the 
Junior Missionary Alliance. Dr. Wil- 
son was its president till the close of his 
life, and at the annual meetings of our 



126 Henry Wilson 

society it used to be his glad claim that 
5,000 children in America were constant- 
ly working and praying in connection 
with that society for 5,000 other children 
in heathen lands. Dr. Wilson took the 
deepest interest in the Missionary Insti- 
tute at Nyack, which is one of the noblest 
institutions of our work, where nearly 
three thousand students have passed 
through the various courses of Bible 
studv and missionarv training: during- the 
past twenty-one years. He was almost 
always present at the opening and clos- 
ing exercises of this large body of stu- 
dents and so radiant was his smile, and 
so bracing was his message, that it might 
be said of him as of Job, 'They waited 
for him as for the rain.*' 

One of his unfinished works was a me- 
morial volume of more than a hundred 
missionaries who had passed from earth 
to heaven from the ranks of the Chris- 
tian and Missionary Alliance. The ma- 
terials for that volume, he announced to 
us just before his death, were about com- 
pleted, and he was only waiting for a few 
more photographs and for final instruc- 
tions from the Board to issue the volume. 



Foreign Work 127 

No more practical proof of his self- 
denying love for the evangelization of the, 
world could be given than the fact that 
for a great many years he himself con- 
tributed regularly out of his extremely 
limited means several hundred dollars for 
the support of his own missionary substi- 
tute on the foreign field, and he under- 
took a special line of laborious mission- 
ary work in this city in order to earn that 
money and be able to keep up the support 
of his missionary. 

The most concise and striking testimo- 
nial which we have seen to the value of 
his life and work, especially as an official 
of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, 
was the resolution adopted at the last an- 
nual Council of the society and prepared 
by Principal Stevens, of the Nyack Mis- 
sionary Institute, which will form a fit- 
ting conclusion to this chapter. 

''This is the place, the hour, the ser- 
vice, in which the departure of a chief 
among us is most vividly and pathetical- 
ly realized; for he always stood in this 
place, at this hour, in this service, and it 
was commonly recognized that no other 
could be thought of while he remained. 



128 Henry Wilson 

What exquisite memorials he has left in 
the Annual Reports! He delighted him- 
self in enshrining the departed in our 
hearts and memories in the name of 
Christ Jesus! And with what zeal did 
he bring forth the project of a memorial 
volume for all our honored dead ! Pathet- 
ic indeed it is that we should be called to 
take up his pen, without his gift, not 
alone to pay tribute to the memory of a 
new list of sleeping saints from our 
ranks, but also to number him in that list. 
"Those who remained to the very end 
of our Council last year can never forget 
our brother's ministries in the closing 
hour. It seemed as if the Master of As- 
semblies poured forth His name like oint- 
ment upon Henry Wilson to lavish upon 
us the many odors from the heavenly cen- 
ser. He read his last memorials, the best 
of all. His words of fraternal commun- 
ion, his prayer, his benediction — all 
seemed prophetic of a veiled but most fit- 
ting farewell. And some hearts were 
then taken with a sharp apprehension of 
some momentous change to occur before 
we met again. Surely, our Lord and 
Master doeth all things well. 



Foreign Work 129 

"In substance, one long and closely as- 
sociated with Mr. Wilson, has said: 
None stood so prominent at the front of 
the battle as our beloved brother in the 
Lord, Dr. Henry Wilson, of New York, 
who fell asleep in Jesus on February 13, 
1908. He was abundant in labors 
throughout the entire constituency of the 
Alliance. From Maine to California and 
also throughout the Dominion of Cana- 
da he traveled extensively as Field Su- 
perintendent, and was always a welcome 
guest in the homes of our people as well 
as an invaluable worker in the conven- 
tions. He excelled in ministry among 
children. His original illustrations and 
his native wit, coupled with a genuine 
piety, gained for him an attentive audi- 
ence among the little ones, whose ap- 
preciation shone in their countenances 
as they eagerly listened to his touching 
appeals to their young hearts. 

''Dr. Wilson was a beautiful specimen 
of Divine Healing. We often heard him 
relate how more than twenty years ago 
God graciously healed him in answer to 
prayer, after many different kinds of 
means had been tried in vain to effect a 



130 Henry Wilson 

cure. From being a weak-chested inva- 
lid he became a robust, strong, healthy- 
man. He never tired of giving God the 
glory for being able to preach the Gospel 
of Christ, grace for the sinner, and an in- 
dwelling Christ for the believer. Indeed, 
Dr. Wilson was an enthusiastic preacher 
of the fourfold Gospel as set forth by the 
Christian and Missionary Alliance and 
loyal to the core to its fundamental prin- 
ciples. He was deeply interested in the 
evangelization of the world, and had 
much joy in advocating the claims of mis- 
sions wherever he went. Havinsf himself 
received a liberal education, his Greek 
Testament being his constant compan- 
panion, the doctor took g^reat interest in 
the educational work of the Alliance and 
much of its success is due to his energies 
in behalf of the existing schools now in 
progress. His was a strenuous life, and 
a unique ministry. When we see an effi- 
cient worker such as Dr. Wilson was, ta- 
ken away in the midst of an active and 
useful life, we can only bow our heads 
and say: *God buries His workmen, but 
carries on His work.' We believe it will 
be so in this case, that the work will go 



Foreign Work 131 

on with increasing power for the glory 
of God, by others being raised up to fill 
the ranks as the noble heroes are taken 
away one by one. Dr. Wilson's manly 
presence will be greatly missed at our 
summer conventions, as well as the gen- 
ial smile with which he was wont to greet 
us, but we comfort ourselves with the 
thought that soon we may be 'caught up 
together to meet the Lord in the air, and 
so shall we ever be with the Lord.' " 

His last work on earth was to attend a 
missionary convention in the city of At- 
lanta, Georgia, and had he lived one week 
longer, he would have preached the mis- 
sionary sermon at that convention, at 
which, immediately after his death, more 
than ten thousand dollars were pledged 
for the great work he loved so well. 



CHAPTER IX. 

HENRY WILSON AS A MAN. 

THE most casual observer would have 
picked him out in a crowd as a 
person of distinction. His face was 
strong and noble. His form was state- 
ly, athletic, erect. His bearing was 
dignified and graceful. His dress was 
distinctly clerical, yet simple and uncon- 
ventional. His manners were polished, 
but aflfable, free and unaffected. He was 
at home in any circle. He was always 
a gentleman. 

His culture was wide and always up to 
date. His reading was of great range, es- 
pecially along the lines of history, bio- 
graphy and the classics of general litera- 
ture. He was a fine Greek and Latin 
scholar and his Greek Testament was his 
constant companion. He kept in touch 
with events and was well informed on all 
ordinary things worth knowing. 

His most marked characteristic was 
perhaps a radiant cheerfulness and joy- 
ousncss which was at once both a gift 
and a grace. If it was not natural, it had 



: 



As a Man 133 

at least become so fixed a habit that it 
was second nature. His was not the silly 
"smile that never comes ofif," for he could 
be grave as well as gay, but it was rather 
a settled uplift of soul that had set its 
face toward the sunrising and refused to 
look on the dark side, to be soured by sen- 
sitiveness or suspicion or allow anything 
to cloud its sunshine or rob it of its vic- 
tory. He was often called ''the Sunny 
Man,*' and one of his favorite quotations 
was : 

"It is easy enough to be pleasant — 

When life goes by with a song; 
But the man worth while is the man with a 

smile, 
When everything goes dead wrong." 

The following letter just received from 
an intimate friend of Dr. Wilson gives 
a little picture of his personal life. 

"I have not the pen of a ready writer 
else how gladly would I add a testimonial 
to the personal worth of dear Dr. Wilson 
which would in some faint measure ex- 
press my appreciation of him. Such a 
friendship as his cannot be adequately told, 
it must 'be realized' — yet knowing him in- 



134 Henry Wilson 

timately as we did, we do desire to tell 
something of what he was to us minister- 
ing as he did in the Master's Name and for 
His glory. 

'*For many years Dr. Wilson was the wel- 
come guest in our home whenever he was 
called to serve the Philadelphia Alliance. 

"Each member of the household re- 
joiced in his coming and felt it a special 
privilege to contribute, in any way, to 
his comfort, yet we always felt we were 
receiving from him far more than we ever 
gave. One of the servants, a Catholic, 
said of him : 'Surely he is a man of God.' 
Another servant was won back to Christ 
from a worldly life through a tender ad- 
dress made by him at a meeting. At the 
close, she with others, joined him in sing- 
ing, 'Give me a heart like Thine.' Her 
gratitude ever after expressed itself in 
practical service during his oft recurring 
visits. 

"His advice was sought and obtained in 
many of the perplexities and trials of our 
family life and his oft repeated assurances 
by letter that he was daily praying for us, 
heartened us wonderfully to 'endure as 



As a Man 135 

seeing Him who is invisible/ and 'trust His 
constant care.' 

*'He was supernaturally natural — the 
very sunshine of God's love beaming from 
every look and word and action. Nothing 
was assumed. He was at home with us. 
His joyous laughter was the spontaneous 
overflow of a soul happy in God and con- 
scious of His approval. K. G. K." 

He had the gracious gift of humor. It 
was his birthright as an Irishman, but it 
was softened and polished by culture and 
the grace of God. He was no profession- 
al punster or diningroom story-teller, but 
the native wit flashed like the spark from 
the flint and steel whenever his keen hu- 
mor struck against some fitting sugges- 
tion or occasion. The story was always 
ready for the occasion and his own shout 
of hilarious laughter was the most amus- 
ing part of it all. 

Watching the clock as he waited to 
catch the next train one day he reminded us 
of the man who asked in an insane asy- 
lum if the clock was right, and the an- 
swer came quickly from one of the keen- 
witted patients, "Right, why if it was 
right it wouldn't be here." And as he 



136 Henry Wilson 

started for the door he lingered a 
moment and half choking with fun 
told about the young preacher who had 
tired his audience with a foolish flight of 
inflated eloquence, and had just been pos- 
ing the saints and angels on various ped- 
estals around the church, and finally, as 
a climax, asked, "And Gabriel, where shall 
I put Gabriel !'' ''Oh !'' shouted an Irish- 
man from the audience, "you can give him 
my sate, for I'm going,'* and sure enough, 
with a roar of laughter Wilson was gone. 
But beneath these more brilliant quali- 
ties there was the solid base of a charac- 
ter of inflexible uprightness. "Whatso- 
ever things are just, whatsoever things 
are pure, w^hatsoever things are honest, 
whatsoever things are true,'"' those things 
that constitute what the apostle sums up 
as ''Virtue,'' as Avell as "praise." these 
were the fibre of Henry Wilson's moral 
being. He was incapable of dishonor, 
pretence, falsehood, and all the petty 
meannesses and compromises which he 
often so inexorably denounced. The chil- 
dren called him their "Palm Tree," be- 
cause of his uprightness, and older eyes 




HENRY WILSON. 

Age 55 years. 




As a Man 137 

saw in him the realization of the poet's 
portrait, 

"The scorn of scorn, the love of love." 

And was there ever a more loyal friend, 
or a soul more true to the trust he had 
assumed and the cause to which he had 
pledged his word and work? Disloyalty 
in a Christian worker met his uncom- 
promising protest and honest indignation. 
Applications came sometimes to our 
Board from missionaries who had left 
some other work, but they found they 
had come to the wrong quarter if they 
came with grievances or complaints, or 
had not severed their former relations 
with unsullied honor. The writer well 
remembers the grief with which he fol- 
lowed the withdrawal of Mr. and Mrs. 
Rallington Booth from the work of his 
honored friend, their father, General 
Booth. And wherever, as happens in ev- 
ery movement, any of our workers be- 
came disaffected or disloyal, he seemed 
incapable of comprehending such things. 

But his loyalty was not bigotry. His 
heart was large enough to take in every 



138 



Henry Wilson 



true friend of Christ and every true work 
of faith and love. While the best that was 
in him was given during the last seven- 
teen years of his life, to the principles and 
work of the Alliance, yet he never ceased 
to be a loyal minister of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church, and he never wavered 
in his love to the Salvation Army 
through whose agency such blessing 
had come into his life. There was a sort 
of chivalry about his devotion. He was 
a true Knight of the Cross, true to his 
Master, true to his friends, true to his 
trust, true to the last. 

Into the Holy of Holies of his deeper 
life we venture to look with shrinking 
eyes. More sacred words must bear witness 
here. The exquisite hymn which he so 
often quoted during his life and which 
was his last utterance as he entered the 
valley at last, was the most perfect ex- 
pression of his faith and love, 

"Jesus I am resting, resting, 

In the joy of what Thou art; 
I am finding^ out the greatness 

Of Thy loving heart. 
Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee, 

And Thy beauty fills my soul; 
For by Thy transforming power, 

Thou has made me whole." 



CHAPTER X. 

HIS LAST DAYS. 

''At eventide it shall be light." 

AFTER the close of the last chapter his 
life took a turn in a direction which, 
from that point till death called, led 
steadily onward in the lines of usefulness, 
spirituality, health, influence and service. 

I question much if any one man had 
"won the field'' in a more true and lasting 
fashion than he, or whose treasure in 
heaven could be marked by a higher figure 
than his in the capacity for individual soul- 
winning. Great leaders and great organiz- 
ers there have been doubtless in the world's 
history, but for individual spirituality, and 
the power to live Christ, I place no man 
above him. And in the day when earth's 
records are recounted the name of Henry 
Wilson will receive its due reward and 
plac6. And when I say this lest you think 
me guilty of undue devotion from all the 
sorrowing hearts that have poured their 
i^rief into my heart I can truly say I only 
echo what thousands feel. 

And now we shall gaze upon the last 



140 Henry Wilson 

scene on the stage of Time, which leads to 
the "ever open door/' And as we stand 
upon its threshold, strain our eyes to catch 
perchance one Httle glimpse of the glory 
and the brightness that is his to-day, and 
hear something of the song to carry back to 
life's dark and lonely pathway an inspira- 
tion to cheer us awhile till we are admitted 
and are numbered amongst that shining 
throng of the more than conquering souls 
who have, through their faithfulness unto 
death, won the crown of life. 

In reference to his last earthly journey I 
will quote from a letter written me by his 
hostess. 

''When your father arrived on Saturday 
night, the 8th, he seemed unusually fa- 
tigued, so we quickl}^ took his valise and 
brought him right into the fire in the sitting 
room, to rest. 

''While we were waiting for supper he 
admitted, in answer to my anxious enquiry 
about his health, as he looked sick, that he 
had not been quite well for a couple of days 
befoie he left New York, and later on he 
admitted he was seized with a congestive 
chill while crossing the New York ferry, 
and that he had been feeling badly since. 



I 



His Last Days 141 

but would soon rest up, and by dieting he 
would soon have this bilious attack, as he 
called it, under control. 

''He retired early. The next morning 
before he came down to breakfast I ex- 
pressed to my husband that Dr. Wilson did 
not look like himself, and that he had 
broken much in a year, but when he joined 
us at breakfast he looked so bright I had 
to change my opinion, though he said he 
had not rested fifteen minutes that night. 
He attributed it to the chiming clock that 
rang every quarter, but we truly now think 
it was more his condition that caused 
sleeplessness. 

''He always accepted everything as from 
God, and said since he could not sleep he 
had spent the night in prayer, ^and such a 
night as God had given him it seemed as if 
he girdled the earth with prayer. 

"Sunday he preached at eleven o'clock 
service and again at 4.30 for the children, 
coming home after that not to go out again 
that evening ; and as he lay upon the couch 
he said he was glad to rest. 

"At supper he talked quite a little, but at 
no time was your father in the same high 
spirit that characterized him on other oc- 



142 Henry Wilson 

casions — no funny stories told with that 
hearty laugh. Indeed, I felt a heaviness as 
of sadness about the table every time we 
assembled, for our dear friend had no ap- 
petite and scarcely ate anything. Indeed, I 
asked him why his hand trembled so, for 
at times he could hardly hold it still. He 
would always say, 'You must not observe 
m.e too closely ; that is not the way to help 
me. And then I would feel almost embar- 
rassed for having made him feel so uncom- 
fortable. 

^'Monday he was down as usual at break- 
fast, but owing to a terrible storm of sleet, 
with no cars running, he was house-bound, 
and indeed till Tuesday afternoon when the 
cars began running again, for which now I 
am sorry, for he insisted on going to the 
children's meeting at 4.30. 

"That day as he left the dinner tabic he 
staggered. I observed it, and as he was 
trying to hide it I hurried to my husband 
and told him the Doctor must not go out, 
that he seemed too weak, so we got him to 
go and lie down, and try and sleep, but 
really hoping he would sleep past the hour 
and thus be prevented, but at the appointed 
time, watch in hand, he came from his room 



His Last Days 143 

to keep trust with the people, as he said. 

"About 5.30 he came in from that service 
tired, he did not go to his room, but sought 
the couch at once. 

"We remember now how, on his first day 
here, looking over at the couch he said, 
'Ah, I will enjoy that,' and truly he spent 
most of his time lying on it. 

"Tuesday after tea he lay on the lounge 
and we entertained him with sweet music, 
which he seemed much to enjoy. 

"About nine o'clock he left us, saying I 
will leave you now and go to rest. 

"About ten o'clock I told my husband I 
thought the Doctor had been breathing 
badly, and coughing so much that I did not 
think we could afford longer to shoulder 
the responsibility of his illness without 
someone, for, mark you, he refused from 
the -first my entreaties to call a doctor or 
submit to any remedies, saying, 'I could not 
;2:ive up my testimony of twenty-four years. 
T cannot be untrue to my faith.' 

"So we had two of the Alliance workers 
to come in and spend what remained of the 
night. 

"In the morning T said to him that he 



144 Henry Wilson 

ought to permit us to get a physician, and I 
won't forget his answer: 

" *Yes, do as you like ; it is as you want.' 

'When permission was given I did all I 
could. We had our doctor in thirty min- 
utes, who, after examining him, came to 
me and said, 'I greatly deplore it. There 
is little to encourage us, but as long as there 
is life there is hope, and we can work. His 
age, of course, is against him.' We were 
fortunate in securing the finest nurse in the 
city, who labored faithfully, skilfully and 
lovingly to the end. And the best diagnos- 
tician in the city on pneumonia said the 
treatment was all that could be given. 

"There was nothing left undone that wc 
could do. I thought of you two girls and 
worked as I felt I had to work for you both 
as well as for all his dear friends who 
would miss him so. 

'"He was really only in bed from Tues- 
day night till Thursday midnight, and the 
change was so rapid by Wednesday, one 
lung was hard and the other fast hardening. 
Your father suffered much on his right side. 
He was conscious till the last. He hardly 
realized till Thursday morning it was fatal. 
He said he would like to sec Madele and 



t 



yJW^/ 





His Last Days 145 

Bessie, but it would be a hard trip and but 
little in it for them. 

"Your letter came in on Thursday morn- 
ing, and I told him I had a Valentine from 
Madele which he seemed pleased to read. 

"Your father died as he lived, beauti- 
fully, no fear of death, but met it hopefully, 
yes, joyously. 

"God was real to him. 

"Thursday morning he said the room was 
brilliant with a heavenly light, and there 
was an angelic host in the room. 

"Once he looked up with his dear, sweet 
smile and said, Tt is all right when your 
hand is on the great Dynamo.^ And he 
held his hands high above his head. 

"Everyone who came near him realized 
the beauty of his Christian life. So patient, 
uncomplaining, courteous and appreciative 
and thoughtful of others made it a pleasant 
duty to wait upon him, as our doctor and 
nurse said. 

"He talked as long as he could, and even 
after his speech was thick and unintellig- 
ible he still seemed to be in prayer. Every 
breath he drew he seemed as if talking to 
some Unseen Power. 

"Just a little before twelve midnight, 



146 Henry Wilson 

Feb. 13th, the breath came less hard, and 
one or two gasps and it was over. 

"We certainly will miss him, but we are 
so glad to have had the privilege of know- 
ing this man of God. 

"We appreciated his life and character in 
every way. 

"We enjoyed his humor, his brilliant in- 
tellect, and his spiritual life will ever be an 
example of a true disciple of Christ. 

"Such lives as your father's are the best 
witness of the Christ in you the hope of 
glory." M. R. E. 

His youngest daughter, Mrs. Wonham 
(Bessie) arrived six hours too late to see 
him alive, and six short telegrams conveyed 
the news to his prostrated daughter in New 
York. News which turned in thirty hours 
a sky of blue into one of utter darkness, 
and threw over life's pathway a shadow to 
the gate of death. 



CHAPTER XI. 

TRIBUTES AND REFLECTIONS. 

*Teace, perfect peace. 
Death shadowing us and ours. 
Jesus has vanquished death and all its powers." 

I HAVE chosen in this chapter to select 
the tributes which came from those 
who knew him best in his Master's 
service ; those Avho worked side by side 
with him in extending the kingdom of God, 
and turning many to righteousness. 

I give these the first place as knowing 
him personally, and as a brother worker, 
and although hundreds of others could also 
and have laid their tributes at his feet in 
many ways, there is no finer testimony to 
a man's Christion character than those of 
his own household. 

It was been too truly said that "distance 
lends enchantment to the view/' and it 
might also be added particularly to popular 
public people. But this could never have 
been said of Henry Wilson. There was 
no mistaikng such a thoroughbred Chris- 
tian as he. 



148 Henry Wilson 

He was the soul of honor. Tactful ever, 
but never to the point of deceit. Diploma- 
tic, but never to the point of hypocrisy. 
Charitable in all things, but never to the 
point of yielding principle. Sympathetic, 
but never to the detriment of the one sym- 
pathized with. In short, as fine a specimen 
of true manhood, Christianity and human- 
ness as I have ever been privileged to meet 
or live with. Let me quote to you the lov- 
ing tribute of his last Episcopal rector. Dr. 
William Rainsford, who, when the sudden 
blow came in his Cathedral in Kingston 
and he was compelled to seek a parish else- 
where, opened his generous heart, and with 
his broad mind and intense admiration for 
a man who had some convictions, offered 
him a position in St. George's Clergy House 
as one of his assistants, along with Rev. 
Lindsey Parker and others, to assist in that 
great parish. With Dr. Rainsford his ser- 
vices extended over a period of seven years 
till he voluntarily resigned to associate him- 
self with Rev. A. B. Simpson, of the Chris- 
tian Alliance. 

Dr. Rainsford's tribute, as follows, was 
written to the Outlook from Paris, France: 

"One who never sought his own, with no 



Tributes and Reflections 149 

hoticc of the Christian press (so far as I 
can see) has passed from us — Henry Wil- 
son, D. D. 

"A good soldier and a true one. A brave 
soul if ever there was one. A man who 
walked with God, and like his Master, went 
about doing good, and healing all who 
were oppressed of the devil, marches with 
us no longer. 

*'In the last letter I had from him, writ- 
ten June 22, 1907, he says: Travelled 
twenty thousand miles last year, visited 
seventy cities and towns, held meetings 
three and four times a day. 

" *There is a spring of joy within me. I 
hardly know an ache or a pain, and I feel 
so young and fresh that I am more like a 
boy at play than a man at work. Praise 
God.' 

"I never knew any man who seemed to 
go from strength to strength and who lived 
in the joy of God as he did. Work that 
others would have deemed unsuitable (he 
was an old man in years) did not so seem 
to him. 

"He would undertake any journey to 
talk to children, and children knew it and 
always loved him. 



150 Henry Wilson 

"He was no mean scholar. He had 
studied hard, and well remembered his 
classics. He was a very good Grecian. 

"His D. D. was not an honorary degree 
(as in the case of most of us it is). When 
I faced the large and difficult problems of 
St. George's, New York, Henry Wilson 
was by my side, and none of us who then 
strove shoulder to shoulder can ever forget 
how his happy, whole-hearted piety influ- 
enced all in our little East Sixteenth street 
clergy house. 

"Looking back on it all, I can see how 
we were often like Martha cumbered with 
much serving. He worked as hard as any, 
but ever seemed to find time to sit at Jesus' 
feet and hear His words. 

"When Henry Wilson came to me first 
a heavy load of depression rested on his 
mind. He had passed through deep and 
dark waters, and he had passed alone. 

"Soon, however, like clear sunshine after 
rain, the light of God's peace came to his 
soul and henceforth he seemed to live and 
work in a cloudless day. 

"If we are really honest with ourselves, 
I am persuaded that we must admit, that 
it is a rare thing to know a man who, with- 



Tributes and Reflections 151 

out hesitation or backward look, is willing 
to place his very all on the altar. Such a 
man was he. 

*'He seemed wholly given to his Master 
— mind, body, goods — he was not his own, 
and 'the life that he lived in the flesh he 
lived by the faith of the Son of God, who 
loved hirn and gave Himself for him.' 

"Thousands of children, and thousands 
no longer children, but who as children first 
knew him, thank God that they ever looked 
into his handsome, kindly face, and will 
follow him with their blessings and pray- 
ers. 

"Churches have often few rewards or 
honors for holy men. 

'^Honors do not seek them, and they arc 
too much occupied with the King's business 
to seek after anything else. But still to- 
day Christiania and her children as they set 
their faces toward the celestial city are led 
and guarded as of old by Mr. Greatheart. 
His shining armour and holy courage they 
are at least quick to see. 

And Mr. Greatheart himself was no 
more stainless soldier than this humble, 
fearless man of God, who passed from the 
work he so joyfully accomplished to the 



152 Henry Wilson 

very end. The King's highway will be 
lonelier to many because he no longer treads 
it with them/^ 

Another tribute from his brother clergy- 
man, Rev. Lindsay Parker, also of St. 
George's Church at the same time. He 
calls him ''One of God's good men." 

''Such, indeed, was my beloved friend, 
Henry Wilson, D. D., whose picture you 
see. What a strong, spiritual, noble face! 
To look at him you would know^ he was a 
good man. Wouldn't you? 

"The face wears a sad expression, it did 
in repose, for the dear fellow had had 
much sorrow in his life. 

"But what a royally, radiantly happy 
man he was notwithstanding. How often 
I have seen his handsome face wreathed 
in smiles, and illuminated with gladness, 
while his infectious laughter rang out in a 
very peal of merriment. 

"We were curates together in St. 
George's, Manhattan, under the inspiring 
rectorship of our friend. Rev. William S. 
Rainsford, D. D. 

"We lived together in the dear old clergy 
house on East Seventeenth street, and our 
association was very intimate and delight- 






Tributes and Reflections 153 

ful. Only a day or two ago I Had a letter 
from Dr. Rainsford in which he referred to 
those bright and happy days, 'among the 
happiest of my life/ he says, 'when we three 
were so much together' (and for a while 
Rev. R. L. Brydges, now rector of St. 
Mark's, Islip), and to our daily custom of 
walking two and two, sometimes four, 
abreast round Stuyvesant Square for about 
half an hour. 

''We would talk of parish matters and 
the day's work, tell stories, joke and laugh. 
How we did laugh. 

''Sometimes the policeman on duty 
would grin sympathetically, and the nurse 
maids would look wonderingly at us. Prob- 
ably thinking we were queer specimens of 
the genus parson. 

"I can hear dear Harry's voice as I write 
and see him, as now and again he would 
drop behind and fairly rock, and cover his 
face with his hands — a favorite gesture of 
his at such times — and just give himself up 
to a perfect gale of merriment. What a 
big boy he was, and how he did revel in a 
bit of fun ! 

"But the times which I recall oftenest 
and with such loving and grateful memory 



154 Henry Wilson 

are the morning hours after our walk, 
when we three curates used to sit together 
in Wilson's room, over our Greek Testa- 
ment. 

"He was our leader, our teacher indeed, 
for he knew more Greek than both of us 
put together, and he made that morning 
hour memorable indeed. 

"My old Greek Testament is marked 
profusely with notes of those readings. 
You have had the benefit of some of them 
from the pulpit, and Miss Wilson — 'his be- 
loved Madele' — has given me her father's 
Httle Greek Testament, also abundantly 
marked and annotated, a precious memen- 
to indeed, bringing back as it does those 
sacred hours, as he truly made them, for 
the Greek was to him a familiar and be- 
loved medium for the conveyance of those 
deeper truths which meant so much to him, 
and expressed phases of thought and 
shades of meaning which were lost in the 
English translation. 

''But it was the man's personality, his 
transparent, shining,, splendid Christian 
character that stood out always and pre- 
eminently and made each one of us realize 
that a saint of God was in our midst. 



Tributes and Reflections 155 

'In the dear old chief's (Dr. Rainsford) 
letter to me he speaks of his last letter he 
had from Htnry. Let me quote what he 
says: 'I have had many a letter I value 
from many a friend I love, but among 
them all I don't think I have had one as 
beautiful, as full of abundant life and peace 
and love as this,' and then he adds these 
words, 'Of whom the world was not 
worthy' I underscore the words; they 
just express my feeling as I think rever- 
ently, tenderly, lovingly of 'God's good 
man' — my friend, Henry Wilson. 

''His funeral service, held in the Gospel 
Tabernacle, was impressive and touching in 
the extreme. At least sixteen hundred per- 
sons, men, women and children were pres- 
ent. One wondered to see so many children. 
Yet, no. Those who knew him did not. He 
loved children with an abounding love, and 
all children loved him. He was never hap- 
pier than when among them. 

"He was, as he loved to tell them, their 
'Big Baby Brother.' So they were there 
and seemed to feel with the rest of us the 
deep sense of personal loss that made the 
gathering seem like one great family shar- 
ing a common sorrow. 



iS<5 Henry WUson 

"And yet, though tears were flowing, 
they flowed down many a shining face. 
For oh! it did seem as if the gate of the 
celestial city were open, and we could al- 
most see the shining throng within, 
among them our brother Beloved. 

"I thought of the Pilgrim's words as 
this same apocalypse came to him, 
'Which when I had seen I wished myself 
among them.' 

''Admirable, indeed, was the memorial 
address of Dr. Simpson, with whom our 
brother had for many years been associated 
in Christian work, discriminating, beauti- 
ful, tender. It was my sacred privilege 
to read the burial service of the Episcopal 
Church in the little chapel adjoining the 
Tabernacle in which for many years Dr. 
Wilson had conducted at eight o'clock 
every Sunday morning the Holy Com 
munion as a priest of our church. 

"After the Scripture lessons I spoke a 
few impromptu words. It was hard, very 
hard to speak at all — almost impossible — 
I did so love him." 

In the funeral service, after Mr. Simp- 
son's address, Rev. Dr. Parker, after read- 



Tributes and Reflections 157 

ing the Scripture lesson from I. Corinth- 
thians xv., spoke as follows: 

''In the prayers and in the words which 
were spoken to us to-day, so fittingly and 
beautifully, one thought, it seemed to me, 
was specially emphasized, and one im- 
pression must have been made upon the 
minds of all who were listening, as cer- 
tainly this impression was made upon me. 

''He was a man who believed in and 
realized, day by day, the living, vivify- 
ing, inspiring presence of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

"To quote the word which has already 
been used, he was anything but a 'con- 
ventional' Christian, and his religion was 
the great reality of his life. 

"Only yesterday I came upon some 
words which reminded me of dear Henry 
because of the contrast which they sug- 
gested to his own blessed and happy ex- 
perience. 

" 'We have seen the spring sun shine 
out of a soulless heaven, upon an emp- 
ty earth and we have felt with utter lone- 
liness that the great Companion is dead.' 

"Yes, as I read those words I thought 
of Henry Wilson, my brother, and the 



IS8 Heniy Wilson 

words of a namesake of his, Bishop Wil- 
son, came quickly to my memory. 'I am 
a witness to the fact that Jesus Christ 
is alive, and though invisible, is accessi- 
ble. I have been cultivating and enjoy- 
ing a personal acquaintance with the 
Lord Jesus for over forty-seven years.' 

"That acquaintance in our brother's 
case had ripened into an intimate and 
blessed fellowship. 

"It seems to me that as he lived and la- 
bored so diligently and incessantly, so 
buoyantly and gladly, so loyally and lov- 
ingly, in His Master's service, those 
words might have been his. 

"'So I am waiting quietly every day, 
Whenever the sun shines brightly I rise and say 
Surely it is the shining of His Face, 
And when a shadow falls across the window of 

the room, 
When I am working my appointed task, 
I lift my head and ask, 
If He has come.' 

"Well, the Master has come and called 
for His beloved, and we have left us the 
lesson and example and inspiration of a 
beautiful and blessed life. 



Tributes and Reflections 159 

''There was one point in Mr. Simpson's 
exquisite analysis of our beloved broth- 
er's character which I am sure commend- 
ed itself to all who knew him, because of 
its instantly recognized truth, 'He was 
such a happy soul/ 

"When I used to write to him play- 
fully I would many a time address him 
as 'My Beloved Happy One.' 

"The last letter I received from him 
was in reply to one which I had written 
him and in which I asked, 'Well, Henry, 
happy as ever?' He wrote back, 'Yes, 
beloved, happy, happier, happiest, and I 
am in the last class/ 

"That Greek Testament of his which 
has been referred to. Yes, it was his com- 
panion. 

"It was as familiar to him as was his 
own vernacular, and many a profitable 
and blessed hour I have had with him, 
when for some happy years we were to- 
gether, as in very intimate and precious 
fellowship we read the Greek Testament 
side by side. 

"It was not simply criticism of the text 
or the exegesis of the meaning, as we 
read; it became a revelation, and morning 



i6o Henry Wilson 

after morning it seemed to mc as if more 
and more wondrous things opened out to 
us as we bent OA'^er the inspired page. 

"Here is a definition which I want to 
repeat to you. Don't you think it is ap- 
plicable? And, oh, let me say before I 
give it, what a beautiful tribute this ser- 
vice has been! How glad and thank- 
ful I am I have been permitted to take 
part in it — to look into your faces — so far 
as one could with tear-blinded eyes — see 
what you thought of this dear man and 
how you loved him. 

"But let me give you this definition. 
Drummond quotes it, not knowing the 
source whence it came. 

" 'Holiness is an infinite compassion 
for others. Greatness is to take the com- 
mon things of life and to walk truly 
among them. Happiness is a great love 
and much serving.' 

"Henry Wilson was a happy man. May 
we not say, glorifying God as we sp^^k 
the words, he was a holy man, for he had 
an infinite compassion filling his heart, 
ever pouring itself out in tenderness and 
helpfulness. 

"He was a great man, in God's sense, 



Tributes and Reflections i6i 

for he walked with that splendid dignity 
of which we have heard, and that noble 
manliness, which was so characteristic, 
among the common things of life. 

"And what a happy man he was ac- 
cording to this definition. Happy! Hap- 
pier! Yes, he was one of the happiest of 
men, if happiness be a great love and 
much serving. 

''I thank God that I knew him and I 
shall cherish as a blessing and as an in- 
spiration for the rest of my life the dear 
memory of my friend. 

''Suffer a last personal word. If I had 
passed on before him I had meant that 
he should do for me what I am permit- 
ted to do for him to-day. God has willed 
it otherwise. Well, a part of the joy of 
the good Master's presence will be meet- 
ing once more my brother and fellow 
servant of that blessed and beloved Mas- 
ter where there shall be fulness of joy 
and pleasures forever more." 

And last, but far from least, I add the 
testimon}^ of his last co-worker in Christ's 
vineyard, a toiler in the field for seven- 
teen years — the last and happiest experi- 
ence of his earthly service. 



1 62 Henry Wilson 

The Rev. Mr. Simpson, over his silent 
form, spoke as follows: 

^Tt is hard to realize that the voice 
w^hich so often in this holy place and 
with such exquisite taste and tenderness 
was wont to pay the last tribute of love 
to those who through the years have been 
passing from our midst, to the home 
above, is itself at last silent, and less 
skilful hands must now lay the last 
wreath upon his breast, and feebler voices 
pronounce his requiem. 

''How shall we try to draw the portrait 
of that strong and striking personality? 

"Was there ever a finer specimen of 
perfect physical manhood, brimming 
with buoyancy, erect with dignity, and 
radiant with hope and cheer, every fibre 
proclaiming the man and the gentleman, 
and yet all so utterly free from self-con- 
sciousness, or the faintest trace of vanit}^ 
pride, or self-importance? And now in 
the fulness of that manhood, the plate 
has been stereotyped, the picture has been 
crystallized, and with no shadow of de- 
crepitude, infirmit}^ or decay to cloud the 
vision, we shall alw^ays think of him as he 
stood amongst us last, in his splendid 



Tributes and Reflections 163 

manhood, and our children will have 
higher and nobler ideals of life because 
this vision has passed before them. 

''How shall we attempt to portray the 
higher gifts of his mind and heart? That 
wit that flashed so spontaneously, but its 
genial light never scorched or consumed ; 
that humor that was ever ready to provoke 
a smile, but never sank to burlesque or ir- 
reverence; that scholarship that was so 
accurate and ripe, that his Greek Testa- 
ment was his pocket companion, and the 
manual of his devotion, but never was 
pedantic; the culture that was so varied, 
the reading that was so wide, and that 
touch with the times that was so thor- 
oughly up-to-date that the most gifted 
and cultured minds were instinctively at- 
tracted to him, and through him, to the 
higher things he loved to recommend. 

"His pen was so graphic and his liter- 
ary style so clear and concise that we 
deeply regret that his intensely active 
life and innate modesty prevented him 
from leaving behind more enduring mes- 
sages, which his friends would now so 
highly prize. 

"If a report was to be written, if a 



i64 Henry Wilson 

memorial was to be gracefully expressed, 
if an appeal was to be presented for some 
great cause, his was always the touch to 
which we turned, the cunning hand that 
polished and completed the work. 

"And what shall we say of his character 
and heart ? 

"Only those who knew him in the sa- 
cred intimacy of his home, and the inner 
circle of his friends, fully realized behind 
the dignity which he never forgot, the 
deep fountains of his tender love, and 
loyal friendship. 

"Perhaps he had no stronger trait than 
a splendid uprightness that reminded one 
of the Bible image of the palm tree. 

"His moral standards were so high and 
his sense of right so inexorable that he 
sometimes seemed severe, when called to 
deal with hypocrisy and sham. 

"But when sincerity, penitence, humil- 
ity and straightforwardness appealed to 
his compassion, there was no voice so 
tender, no hand so ready to lead the re- 
turning sinner to the Saviour's feet and 
bid him go and sin no more. Needless to 
sav he was the soul of honor and seemed 



Tributes and Reflections 165 



incapable of doing, saying or thinking a 
mean thing. 

'Tre-eminent above all his personal 
qualities was his invincible cheerfulness, 
hopefulness and joyousness. 

''In all the years the writer has known 
him, he has never seen a cloud upon his 
face, and has often said that if there was 
only one really 'dead' Chirstian on earth 
it was Henry Wilson. One chorus was 
ever ringing in his heart, 'It is better far- 
ther on.' 

"But of course the secret of all this 
was not mere temperament, or a happy 
blending of natural qualities, but first and 
last, the grace of God and the life of the 
indwelling Christ. 

"A great transformation had come in 
his life long after he had been in the 
Christian ministry, and it made all things 
new. 

"That was nothing less than the one 
simple fact which he was continuously 
testifying to, and which was the supreme 
burden of his ministry, 'I live, yet not I, 
but Christ liveth in me." 

"He literally and utterly believed in the 
reincarnation of Jesus Christ in a conse- 



i66 Henry Wilson 

crated Christian life, and he lived it sim- 
ply, sublimely, and to the end. We have 
never seen this precious truth more 
sv^eetly or clearly declared than in the 
messages about the Internal Christ that 
have fallen from his lips and pen in the 
past few years. 

*'Not only was Christ the life of his 
spirit, and to him the substance of all 
holiness, happiness and even intellectual 
vigor, but for nearly a quarter of a cen- 
tury he took Him and he lived upon Him 
as the Source of his physical strength, 
and loved to tell us from this platform, 
and in every part of this land, how day by 
day he drank in His quickening life, 
breathed His very breath, and lived and 
moved and had his being in Christ, his 
Living Head. 

"While there was nothing sentimental 
about his wholesome and practical na- 
ture, yet his devotion was fervid, and we 
can still remember how he used to sing 
with unutterable tenderness until all 
hearts were melted at the altar where he 
ministered : 

"*0h, Calvary, dear Calvary, 
Where Jesus shed His blood for me, 



Tributes and Reflections 167 

Oh, Calvary, dear Calvary, 
Speak to my heart from Calvary. 

" There would I clasp Thy bleeding feet 
And kiss and bathe them with my tears, 
The story of Thy love repeat. 
In every trembling sinner's ears/ 

"The story of Dr. Wilson's life is a var- 
ied one. Born in Peterboro County, Can- 
ada, in 1841, educated at Trinity College, 
Toronto, where he took high honors and 
several degrees, and ordained to the min- 
istry of the Episcopal church in 1866, he 
was a conventional Episcopal clergyman 
in Kingston, Ontario, for the first eigh- 
teen years of his public life. In 1884, 
after a profound spiritual experience, he 
labored wiih great earnestness for five 
years. 

"In the year 1889 he retired from the 
ministry of St. George's and became as- 
sociate pastor of the Gospel Tabernacle, 
which relation he sustained for the past 
nineteen years, until his death. 

"He had been in the ministry forty-two 
of the sixty-seven years of his life. 

"Several years ago the claims of the 
vast home work of the Christian and 



i68 Henry Wilson 

Missionary Alliance led the board to call 
him from his pastoral work to spend the 
larger portion of his time as Field Super- 
intendent of the Alliance work in the 
United States and Canada. 

''During this time he has traveled over 
almost all parts of the continent and 
preached Christ in His fulness in hun- 
dreds of places and to tens of thousands 
of people. 

''In summing up the leading elements 
of his ministry it should be said that he 
preached the old Gospel in its simplicity 
and power and was always loyal to th^e 
evangelical faith and the Cross of Cal- 
vary. 

"He had no hankering for a polychrome 
Bible, a bloodless gospel, or a New Theol- 
ogy. It was, however, as a Christian 
teacher that he was specially used in his 
public ministry. 

"His cultivated mind, his w4de informa- 
tion, his accurate scholarship and his clear 
and concise thought and expression, gave 
his messages of Christ and His fulness 
great freshness and force, and we have all 
recognized the increasing value and pow- 



Tributes and Reflections 169 

er of his addresses at our conventions 
during the last few years. 

"His heart was too large to allow him 
to be a mere conventional part of any or- 
ganization or system. 

*'While loyally true to the testimony of 
the Christian and Missionary Alliance, 
whose message of the crucified, living and 
coming Lord had been burned into his in- 
most being, his sympathies went out to 
all true workers for the kingdom of God, 
and the welfare of man. 

"He loved the Salvation Army, under 
whose auspices he had received some of 
the deepest and mightiest inspirations of 
his life. 

"He loved the work of Rescue Mis- 
sions and was in close touch with all the 
noble men and women who are in the 
front of the battle, and was the moving 
spirit in the annual rally of these workers 
in this place every October. 

"He was the President of the Seaman's 
Mission at the time of his death. 

"He was deeply interested in education 
and was one of the founders, and at the 
time of his death, the President of the Ny- 
ack Seminary for the co-education of 



170 Henry Wilson 

young people, with careful safeguards for 
their moral and religious training. He 
has been for many years the chaplain of 
the Magdalen Home, and his messages 
there have reached thousands of discour- 
aged lives. 

"But it was pre-eminently as a Pastor 
that Dr. Wilson excelled. 

''He loved to be among the people. 
Wherever there was sickness, sorrow, 
poverty or loneliness, he went with wil- 
ling feet and words of comfort. No dis- 
tance was too great, no hardship was too 
trying. ''Taking a bite,^' as he loved to 
call it, at any humble cottage that might 
give him welcome, he would spend the 
day tramping the streets of New York, 
Brooklyn and Jersey City, and come 
home at night radiant and refreshed, hav- 
ing left a shining track of hope and cheer 
behind him. 

"This was his great delight, and when 
he could get home from conventions he 
always hastened to take up his parish 
work as his chosen recreation. 

"But more than all, Dr. Wilson was the 
children's pastor and their own particu- 
lar friend and comrade. 



Tributes and Reflections 171 

"The first word of sympathy which 
came to us after the tidings of his death 
was a little poem sent by one of the boys 
in the Nyack Seminary, of which he was 
President, mourning his loss and glowing 
with holy aspiration to follow in his steps. 
How the children will miss him ! 

''His last ministry in the city of New 
York was to spend Thursday a week ago 
in the interval between his Canadian trip 
and his visit to Atlanta, at Nyack, at- 
tending a meeting of the Board of the 
Seminary, and in talking to the boys and 
girls. The 'Big Baby Brother' of all the 
little fellows, he came down to their level 
and took them all in his arms and yet 
always maintained their respect and ven- 
eration as well as love. What a heaven 
that must be to him where perhaps nine 
out of every ten of the glorified inhabit- 
ants are translated little boys and girls. 
We may well imagine that he has already 
joined the children's choir and is still 
singing with them the song of the Lamb. 

"The story of the end is briefly told. He 
returned from a convention tour in Can- 
ada during the first week of February, 
having passed through a blizzard of un- 



172 Henry Wilson 

usual severity. Writing to his boy and 
girl friends just in the midst of that trip 
he thus refers to the weather and gives 
out one of those bursts of sunshine and 
good cheer which were so normal in his 
life. 

'' ^My Beloved Wee Ones : 

" 'Once again I am away on convention 
work. This time in Canada, the land of 
my birth, and at this season the land of 
snow and ice, with cold weather below 
zero, and sharp enough to make 
your hands and face tingle as you 
breast the keen wind, blowing over the 
ice-covered bay stretching out for miles 
into the great Lake Ontario beyond. But 
to me this cold, clear air is a tonic, and as 
I write I am praising God for the privi- 
lege of being with my dear old friends in 
Kingston once more, and enjoying with 
them the twofold air (i) the lower for 
the body; and (2) the upper for the soul, 
and taking both directly from God. We 
have had meetings full of power in Toron- 
to and here and to-morrow we go to Ot- 
tawa for a few days. 

" Then home for two or three days 



Tributes and Reflections 173 

and once more away. This time Atlanta 
and the Sunny South, to be busy with 
our dear people there till nearly the end 
of February. So you see I am within 
all kinds of weather in one short month. 
From ten to twenty below zero in Otta- 
wa, the capital of the Dominion, to the 
balmy air of Georgia, where I expect to 
see flowers blooming in the open air be- 
fore I return to New York at the end of 
the month. 

" ^And best of all, kept by the power of 
God in body and soul, so sweetly that I 
seem to be walking on air above all the 
microbes and malaria of the lower world, 
and exchanging my strength for God's, 
mounting up with wings as an eagle's, 
running, and yet not weary; walking 
without growing faint. Isaiah xl.. 28-31 
has become real to me and grows more 
and more so as the days go by, and there 
is no night in this land of light and love 
where the Lord and I are living. 

" 'How I long and pray that you, dear 
children, your parents, teachers and 
friends, may all come into this better 
country soon, and not wait till you die 



174 Henry Wilson 

before singing as a present fact for every- 
day use : 

" * "I've reached the land of corn and wine, 
And all its riches freely mine, 
Here shines undimmed one blissful day, 
For all my night has passed away. 

" ^ "The Saviour comes and walks with me, 
And sweet communion here have we, 
He gently leads me by His hand. 
For this is heaven's borderland." ' 

''On Friday, February 7th, he left for 
Atlanta, Georgia, to begin a series of con- 
ventions in the South. He appeared to 
have been unwell on his arrival, but 
preached once on the following Sabbath. 

"The dread disease of double pneumo- 
nia gradually developed. 

^'Everything that love and skill could 
do was done, but after Wednesday the 
gravest s^^mptoms developed and mes- 
sages reached us calling to united prayer 
in his behalf. 

"He was surrounded by many praying 
hearts in Atlanta and was entertained in 
a home of wealth, by two of his oldest 
friends, where every comfort and atten- 



Tributes and Reflections 175 

lion possible were bestowed. 

"But he continued to sink rapidly, and 
on Thursday night, a little before mid- 
night, his spirit passed to his eternal rest. 

"Two members of his family were has- 
tening to his side, but they were unable 
to arrive in time to see him alive. 

"His end was peace and triumph, and 
the last hymn which cheered his depart- 
ing spirit was, 

'Jesus, I am resting, resting in the joy of what 

Thou art; 
I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving 

heart.' 

"The following quotation from a letter 
just received from the nurse who attended 
him in his last illness gives a beautiful 
picture of the triumph of his passing 
hours. 

" ^Our Father permitted me to minister 
to our beloved Dr. Wilson the days before 
his homegoing. I felt I wanted to write 
you something of those last hours. As a 
nurse I was permitted to be with him con- 
stantly, and felt it a privilege to have 
those last days with him, and even in the 
deep sorrow rejoice with joy unspcak- 



176 Henry Wilson 

able, the very room being filled with the 
glory of God. 

" 'There was much in those days which 
spoke of his complete rest and trust in 
God. Over and over he repeated and tried 
to sing, ''Jesus, I am resting, resting in 
the joy of what Thou art/' 

" 'His last service was on Tuesday af- 
ternoon, with his beloved little ones, and 
he said on Thursday, just before going 
home, as I told him the children were 
waiting for "Big Baby Brother": "Take 
them a message from me, and tell them I 
will soon be wnth them." 

" 'Later he felt he was leaving us and 
said, "I have tried to grasp Him for life. 
If I fail, He knows all," and with one of 
his smiles and reaching both arms toward 
Him, said, "Tell the loved ones there is 
perfect rest in Him, and if He takes me 
home to-night, it is all right. Tell them 
I shall be with Jesus at the right hand of 
the Father, praying for you all, and pray- 
ing that some time He will reveal to you 
why this need be." 

" 'He often said, "Oh, such rest ! Such 
joy !" and then just a short time before go- 
ing home he opened his eyes and said, "I 



Tributes and Reflections 177 

have had such a blessed vision of victory. 
Jesus came to me and is with me. His 
presence and glory fill the room, and His 
angels are all about us. Oh, the joy, the 
joy, the rest in Him !' 



ij> J 



''Dr. Wilson's greatest ministry was 
his own victorious life. 

" 'Do not write a book, but be a book/ 
was Sir Walter Scott's dying message to 
one of his young relatives. Dr. Wilson's 
life was an open book, illuminated and il- 
lustrated b}^ innumerable pictures of light 
and love, and a book which even the 
youngest child has loved to read, and 
whose story will yet be told to children's 
children by these little ones. 

"The next great lesson his spirit is be- 
queathing us is the gospel of hope and 
cheer, of holy gladness, of shining faces 
and songful souls. 

"Surely, if we can do nothing else we 
can, like him, learn to 'rejoice evermore,' 
and shine for Jesus. 

"And finally, if he could speak from 
heaven to-day, surely his last and tender- 
est bequest would be, ^Don't forget the 
children — the children of America, the 



178 Henry Wilson 

children of heathen lands/ for whose sup- 
port he personally contributed through 
his little bands more than fifteen hundred 
dollars every year, and for whom his last 
thoughts and plans were actually engag- 
ed. How he used to teach the little ones 
to sing: 

"Jesus loves the little children, 
All the children of the world, 
Brown and yellow, black and white, 
They are precious in His sight, 
Jesus loves the little children of the 
world. 

"The Master is saying to us through 
his simple, child-like and child-loving life, 
'Lovest thou Me? Feed My lambs/ Oh, 
how they will miss him ! How we all are 
missing him ! 

"God help us to take up the trust he 
is laying down, to put on his mantle of 
faith, hope, love and joy, and with him to 
share an abundant entrance into the ever- 
lasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour 
Jesus Christ! 

"Three faces are looking down on us 
from heaven: three men who have been 
very near and dear to us as these years 
have gone by. 



Tributes and Reflections 179 

"The first is the face of John Cookman, 
a face of love, and some of us can remem- 
ber how we often thought of the words 
spoken of Stephen, that 'his face seemed 
as the face of an angel/ 

"The second is the face of A. J. Gor- 
don, a face of peace. 

"The third will henceforth be the face 
of dear Henry Wilson, the face of light, of 
sunshine, and of hope and gladness. 

"Let us catch the reflection of these 
glorified faces as the gates open while 
they pass in, and let us take heart that 
we sorrow not even as others that have 
no hope, but press on a little longer and 
be followers of them who through faith 
and patience inherit the promises. 

"Friend of our hearts, farewell! 
How swift thy heavenly call, 
But yesterday we clasped thy hand, 
To-day the funeral pall. 

"Nay, not the pall, the bier, 
For thee no death can be, 
Thy radiant love is shining on, 
These cerements hold not thee. 

"The chrysalis has burst, 

Thy winged soul has flown. 



i8o Henry Wilson 

Thy song has struck a nobler key. 
Before the jasper throne. 

"With countless little ones 

Who passed this way before, 
We seem to see thy radiant form 
Upon that shining shore. 

"Thy loved ones, too, are there, 
All pain and parting past, 
Thy spirit breathes its native air, 
And finds its home at last. 

"Thou wast too bright for earth 
To hold thee longer here, 
Pass on! We would not wish thee back, 
Amid these sorrows drear. 

"But on we also press, 

And may thy mantle fall, 
And leave on many a quickened heart. 
Some new and heavenly call. 

"Where is Elijah's God! 
Elijah's course is run. 
Lord, clothe us with Thy changeless might. 
Until our task is done." 

One other tribute touched me perhaps 
as much as any. It came from a man, an 
old friend of St. George's parish, New 
York. With a bunch of flowers it was 
sent to me, on a small card : 



Tributes and Reflections i8i 

" 'Will you place these flowers some- 
where near your dear father, for I loved 
him much.' 

After the news had reached Doctor 
Rainsford I received the following letter: 

Dear Madele: 

"I only heard yesterday of your dear, 
dear father's sudden death, and I can as- 
sure you I am cut to the heart at sense of 
his loss. 

''I had such a dear, loving letter from 
him very lately. 

"'He was so good to me since I have 
been ill, writing to me from time to time. 

"Always the same cheery, consecrated, 
light-giving soul, who, like his Master, 
went about doing good. 

"I shall ever recall those early days 
with him ; the days of our first great en- 
deavor. Days when he and Parker and 
I drew with the closest bonds of brother- 
hood. They were far the best days in my 
life and I am very sure the work we did 
then together cannot be undone. 

"How you must miss him ! A sim- 
pler, purer soul never did I meet. He 
sought not his own, and of him the world 



i82 Henry Wilson 

was not worthy. Such men seldom win 
renown here — nor did he. 

"I don't see how I missed seeing any 
account of his death. I read the Church- 
man. Can you tell me anything, or send 
me anything? 

"With deep sympathy I am ever, 
"Yours truly, 

"W. S. Rainsford." 

Perhaps in concluding this chapter it 
would be most fitting to quote from the 
letter received from his last Episcopal 
Bishop, who just a few months later passed 
to the Beyond. I refer to Bishop Henry 
C. Potter. 

"My Dear Miss Wilson: 

"Let me offer you my sincere sym- 
pathy in view of the death of your father, 
of which I have just learned. 

"I am heartily sorry that engagements 
already made will prevent my attendance 
at his funeral. 

"As to everybody who knew him, your 
father greatly endeared himself to me, 
and was an example to all of us in his 
gracious and benignant bearing, in his 



Tributes and Reflections 183 

entire consecration to his Master's work 
and in his invincible tenderness for all 
sorrow and misadventure and sin, and his 
untiring sympathy in His service. 
"Believe me, my dear Miss Wilson, 
"Very faithfully yours, 

"Henry C. Potter." 

As I look over these tender and true 
expressions of love I cannot help recalling 
a quotation once read by me: 

"Oh, how painful and sweet it is to 
stoop and bend day after day with weary 
care over the common dust-heap of our 
past experiences, and humming old tunes 
to ourselves, and thinking of our lost 
hopes and buried loves, to pick out the lit- 
tle diamonds of memory and put them 
into our bosoms." 

And now a few words will suffice to 
picture the last earthly journey I made 
with my beloved father alone to the spot 
in which he at last wished to be laid. 

Under the sighing pines of the far-away country 

churchyard. 
By the side of his loved one he lies, both honored 

and cherished. 



184 Henry Wilson 

Dail}' the tide of life goes ebbing and flowing be- 
side him, 

Thousands of throbbing hearts where his is at 
rest and forever. 

Thousands of aching brains where his no longer 
is busy, 

Thousands of toiling hands, where his have 
ceased from their labor, 

Thousands of weary feet, where his have com- 
pleted the journey." 

The spot where he had laid to rest 
those whom he had loved, when he was 
rector of the little church which he had 
built for the people of that district. The 
one little spot on earth that had any link 
with the past, and in which he had placed 
a memorial window to each of his wives, 
and a memorial font to his darling boy — a 
little church around which I have spent 
many an hour in my childhood days when 
too young to realize what the silent grave- 
stones meant to my father's life. Strange 
circumstance which brought me once 
again after a quarter of a century to erect 
another cross and stand over his open 
grave ! 

It might be as well to quote from the 
account given from the daily paper. 



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Tributes and Reflections 185 

''Kingston, April i8th, 1908. — This af- 
ternoon at 2.30 o'clock, a large congrega- 
tion assembled in St. George's Cathedral 
when the remains of the late Reverend 
Henry Wilson, D.D., of New York, were 
carried up the aisle and into the chancel 
to receive the last rites of the Church of 
England, w^hich he served so long, so 
faithfull}^, and so well. 

''The remains were met at the Cathe- 
dral entrance by the clergy, who preceded 
them to the chancel, while the sad strains 
of Chopin's funeral march came softly 
from the organ. Clergy in attendance in- 
cluded the Dean of Ontario (Dean Far- 
thing), Canon Starr, Canon Grout, Canon 
Loucks, Archdeacon Macmorine, Rev. S. 
Tighe, Rev. W. Lewin, Rev. R. S. For- 
neri, Rev. W. F. Fitzgerald. 

"The services were conducted by the 
Dean of Ontario, assisted by Canon Starr. 

" 'For all the saints who from their 
labors rest/ was the opening hymn. 
Charles B. S. Harvey sang in a most feel- 
ing manner the hymn, 'Jesus, I am rest- 
ing, resting,' a great favorite of Dr. Wil- 
son, and the last he sang before he died. 



i86 Henry WUson 

The closing hymn was, Teace, perfect 
peace/ 

''As the casket was carried forth the 
choir sang the 'Nunc Dimittis' and then 
followed The Dead March in Saul/ 

"The mourners were Thomas R. 
Power, J. W. Power and Noel Kent. 

"The pallbearers were six of the sur- 
viving parishioners of Dr. Wilson, when 
he was curate of St. George's. They were 
R. Waldron, R. T. Carson, M. S. Suther- 
land, W. B. Dalton, T. B. Walkern and 
Robert Sutherland. 

"After the Cathedral service carriages 
were taken for Cateraqui Cemetery, 
where he was laid to rest in the family 
plot in the rear of Christ Church, where 
Dr. Wilson was once rector and where 
his memory is held fragrant. The grave- 
side service was read by the Dean of 
Ontario. 

"Three crosses mark the graves of oth- 
er members of the family, and a fourth 
will soon be erected to mark the mound 
which covers all that is mortal of Dr. 
Henry Wilson." 

And so we made our way to the little 



I 



Tributes and Reflections 187 

country churchyard, a silent, faithful, loy- 
al little band, and amidst the falling rain 
under the grey sky we took our last look 
and laid the few sweet violets above his 
head, ere the earth closed from our view 
the last earthly sight of one whose per- 
sonality can never be effaced from our 
hearts, and whose loss will make an ache 
which no time can heal, and which only 
heaven restore till 

"With the morn those angel faces smile, 

Which we have loved long since and lost awhile." 

And when I look again upon the spot 
the white and stainless snow will have 
laid a pall over it — a covering no purer 
than the sotil that lies beneath it. 

For the sake of those who may not 
know the last hymn his dear lips strove 
to frame, I will quote it here: 

"Jesus, I am resting, resting, in the joy of what 
Thou art, 

I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving 
heart, 

Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee and Thy beau- 
ty fills my soul, 

For by Thy transforming power Thou hast made 
me whole. 



1 88 Henry Wilson 

*'Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus, I behold Thee 

as Thou art, 
And Thy love so pure, so changeless, satisfies my 

heart, 
Satisfies its deepest longings, meets, supplies its 

deepest need, 
Compasseth me 'round with blessings. Thine is 

love indeed. 

"Ever lift Thy face upon me, as I work and wait 

for Thee, 
Resting 'neath Thy smile. Lord Jesus, earth's dark 

shadows flee, 
Brightness of my Father's glorj^, sunshine of my 

Father's face. 
Keep me ever trusting, resting, fill me with Thy 

grace." 



CHAPTER XII. 
''all's well." 

'All is ended now, the hope and the fear and the 

sorrow, 
All the aching of heart, the restless, unsatisfieii 

longing, 
All the dull, deep pain and constant anguish of 

patience, 
x\nd as she pressed once more the lifeless head 

to her bosom. 
Meekly she bowed her own and murmured, 

'Father, I thank Thee" 

AND now what shall / say? The last 
four words of the above beautiful 
quotation form the onh^ prayer I 
can yet trust my heart to make. 

If human s^^mpathy could stop the 
heart-ache I have had sufficient to prove 
how many people are praying for His sus- 
taining grace: but in spite of it all, my 
heart does ache. 

Not for the loss, for I think of all the 
everlasting pleasures he is enjoying at 
the right hand of God forcvermore, but 
just the lonely feeling of having been left 
behind — a kind of homesickness that he 
has entered the gates first and I am 



190 Henry Wilson 

orphaned. It all sounds very human, but 
in this, the most awful shock of my life 
that could ever come to me, I feel "my 
soul from out that shadow shall be lifted 
— never more." 

When I was permitted by my doctor 
to attend the funeral service I went for 
the inspiration it would be to my own 
heart, for the memory of a lifetime, and 
for what it might mean to me in the 
3^cars to come when in some dark tempta- 
tion I might have to pray, "Let me die 
the death of the righteous, and let my 
last end be like his." 

Ah! what a beautiful service it was! 

When I recall how he said when I 
joined the Army he would rather see me 
in my coffin than deserting my colors, I 
thank God that by His grace I never dis- 
appointed him, and I feel 

"So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still 

Will lead me on, 
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till 

The night is gone. 
And with the morn those angel faces smile, 
Which I have loved long since and lost awhile." 

Such a life as his was an inspiration, 
and what beautiful reunions he must be 



All's Well 191 

having to-day with his "loved-and-lost- 
awhile" ones. 

No sadness enters my heart when I 
view the picture from this standpoint, 
but to be the one left when the poor 
world needed him so much more than it 
did me seems indeed the mystery. 

Still I have much to be thankful for. 

No long, distressing illness, no stand- 
ing by to see his manly strength fail, no 
dimming of the vision, no catching of the 
breath, no wild delirium of the eye have 
haunted me in his outgoing. 

There is a pang of unutterable sadness 
when I think I was not permitted to 
kneel somewhere near him as his great 
soul passed "the ever open door." 

I should like to have seen the shadow 
of earth fall as he entered the glory of the 
Eternal City, and to have pressed my fer- 
vent lips to his pallid hand ere he let 
go his earthly grasp — but God willed it 
otherwise. 

It was a privilege to have lived with 
him — years of perfect, unbroken, happy 
comradeship, unselfishly fond of one an- 
other, putting nothing in the other's way 
to prevent the extension of the kingdom 



192 Henry Wilson 

of God — and now to think he has gone 
into the glory, and the land where no 
teardrops fall — far from suffering and 
pain — gone before I could realize it. 

But the oncoming years will not help 
me to forget it, nor will the conscious- 
ness of infinite S3"mpathy blot out the 
longing for the one beautiful and as near- 
ly perfect soul as I have ever met. 

I feel sure God's tender love Avill not 
fail me in this darkest hour of all, and for 
the sake of the dear one who is gone He 
will not suffer me to fall. 

I can only say that as to the thousands 
of hearts everywhere it has brought infi- 
nite sorrow, so has that sorrow concen- 
trated itself on my heart, and when the 
call comes to anyone of us who has lived 
and loved, may we be found as ready to 
meet our God and with as clear a faith 
and as heavenly a vision. 

In one of his devotional books I found 
this little poem, which I knew he loved 
much and which was written shortly af- 
ter the shadow of death had fallen across 
his own early life, and because I consider 
it a fitting conclusion, I place it here. 



J 



All's Well 193 

"Bye and Bye. 
"What will it matter bye and bye, 
Whether my path below was bright, 
Whether it wound through dark or light, 
Under a grey or a golden sky. 
When I look back on it bye and bye? 

"What will it matter bye and bye. 
Whether with dancing joy I went 
Down through the years with a gay content? 
Never believing, nay, not I ! 
Tears would be sweeter, bye and bye. 

"What will it matter bye and bye, 
Whether unhelped IVe toiled alone. 
Dashing my foot against a stone. 
Missing the charge of the angel nigh. 
Bidding me think of the bye and bye? 

"What will it matter bye and bye. 
Whether with cheek to cheek Fve lain. 
Close to the pallid angel Pain, 
Soothing myself through sob and sigh? 
All will be elsewise bye and bye. 

"What will I care for the unshared sigh. 
If in my fear of lapse or fall. 
Close I have clung to Christ, through all, 
Mindless how rough the road might lie, 
Sure He will smooth it bye and bye? 

"What will it matter bye and bye? 
Nought, if Tm sure the way IVe trod. 
Gloomy or gladdened leads to God. 
Questioning not of the How, the Why, 
If I but reach Him bye and bye. 



194 Henry Wilson 

"What will it matter? Nothing but this, 
That light and darkness, joy and pain. 
Lifted me skyward — helped to gain, 
Whether through rack, or smile, or sigh. 
Heaven, home, all in all, bye and bye." 

The early Christians were accustomed to 
bid their dying friends ''Good night/' so 
sure were they of their awakening on the 
Resurrection morning. The following 
beautiful hymn sung by Mr. Sankey at 
the funeral service of the late C. H. Spur- 
geon, seems to me a fitting close to this 
little sketch: 

"Sleep on, beloved, sleep and take thy rest. 
Lay down thy head upon thy Saviour's breast. 
We love thee well, but Jesus loves thee best. 
Good-night ! 

"Until the shadows from this earth are cast, 
Until He gathers in His sheaves at last, 
Until the tv/ilight gloom is over-past, 
Good-night ! 

"Until the Easter glory lights the skies. 
Until the dead in Jesus shall arise. 

And He shall come, but not in lowly guise. 
Good-night ! 

"Until, made beautiful by love Divine 
Thou in the likeness of thy Lord shalt shine. 



All's Well 195 

And He shall bring that golden crown of thine, 
Good-night ! 

"Only 'Good-night/ beloved ; not 'farewell' ; 
A little while and all His saints shall dwell 
In hallowed union, indivisible. 
Good-night ! 

"Until we meet again before His throne, 
Clothed in the spotless robe He gives His own, 
Until we know even as we are known, 
Good-night !" 



"Within her heart was his image, 
Clothed in the beauty of love and 

Youth as last she beheld him, 
Only more beautiful made by his 

Deathlike silence and absence. 

Into her thoughts of him time entered not, for 
it was not. 
Over him years had no power; 

He was not changed but transfigured, 

He had become to her heart as one 
Who is dead and not absent." 

— Longfellow. 




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